knowledge Management (1)

Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management
Sagar Patel
Project Manager-PAN INDIA
DePuy Synthes A Johnson & Johnson Company
Email: sagar_patel33@yahoo.co.in
Ph.: 9323818308

First, what is KnowledgeFirst, what is Knowledge
In simplest terms, knowledge is the ability of an actor to
respond to a body of facts and principles accumulated over a
period of time.
One way to look at knowledge is as the apogee of the
following continuum –
data information knowledge
Data = 1 unit of fact; Information = aggregation of data; Knowledge
= potential for action on information
 Data and information have intrinsic properties, the quality of
knowledge depends on the properties of the agent

KnowledgeKnowledge
 The creation and diffusion of knowledge have become ever more
important factors in competitiveness in today’s knowledge economy.
 Being viewed as a commodity or an intellectual asset, it possesses some
paradoxical characteristics that are radically different from other
valuable commodities.
 Use of knowledge does not consume it.
 Transfer of knowledge does not result in losing it.
 Knowledge is abundant, but the ability to use it is scarce.
 Much of an organization’s valuable knowledge walks out the door at
the end of the day.

From industrial era to knowledge ageFrom industrial era to knowledge age
Forty-five years ago, nearly half of all workers in
industrialized countries were making or helping to
make things; today that proportion is down to 20%
(Drucker, 1994; Bart, 2000).
An organization in the Knowledge Age is one that
learns, remembers, and acts based on the best
available information, knowledge, and know-how.
Companies need to learn from their past errors
and not reinvent the wheel again and again.

KM definitionKM definition
Knowledge management is the deliberate and
systematic coordination of an organization’s
people, technology, processes, and organizational
structure in order to add value through reuse and
innovation. This coordination is achieved through
creating, sharing, and applying knowledge as well as
through feeding the valuable lessons learned and
best practices into corporate memory in order to
foster continued organizational learning.

KM ObjectivesKM Objectives
Facilitate a smooth transition from those retiring
to their successors who are recruited to fill their
positions.
 Minimize loss of corporate memory due to
attrition and retirement.
 Identify critical resources and critical areas of
knowledge so that the corporation “knows what it
knows and does it well—and why.”
 Build up a toolkit of methods that can be used
with individuals, with groups, and with the
organization to stem the potential loss of
intellectual capital.

Knowledge AssetsKnowledge Assets
There are two types of knowledge assets
Tacit knowledge: That type of knowledge which
people carry in their mind, and is, therefore,
difficult to access.
Explicit knowledge: That type of knowledge
which has been or can be articulated, codified, and
stored in certain media.

The Two Major Types of KnowledgeThe Two Major Types of Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge
Tangible Intangible
Physical objects, e.g. in documents or
databases
Mental objects, i.e. it's in people's
head's
Context independent Context affects meaning
Easily shared Sharing involves learning
Reproducible Not identically replicated

KM ExamplesKM Examples
Larsen & Toubro : Know Net
Infosys : Learn Once Use Anywhere paradigm

KM ModelsKM Models
There are some KM Models:
Nonaka/Takeuchi Knowledge Spiral (1995)
ADAM’s Model (2000-01)
The Choo Sense-making KM Model (1998)
WIIG KM Model

Nonaka’s four model of knowledgeNonaka’s four model of knowledge
conversionconversion

Nonaka’s four models of knowledge conversionNonaka’s four models of knowledge conversion
explanationexplanation
 Socialization
◦ (tacit to tacit) is the process of learning through sharing experiences that creates
tacit knowledge as shared mental models and professional skills e.g. expert
consensus achieved during medical meetings
 Externalization
◦ (tacit to explicit) is the process of conversion of tacit into explicit knowledge, for
example, the translation of clinical trial result into a recommendation for clinical
practice
 Internalization
◦ (explicit to tacit) is the process of an individual learning by repeatedly executing
an activity applying some type of explicit knowledge, e.g., absorbing the
relationship between actions and results as new personal tacit knowledge
 Combination
◦ (explicit to explicit) is the process of enriching the available explicit knowledge
to produce new bodies of knowledge, for example, combining medical and
organizational knowledge into a decision support system

ADAM’s Model (2000-01)ADAM’s Model (2000-01)

The Choo Sense-making KM Model (1998)The Choo Sense-making KM Model (1998)

WIIG’s KM ModelWIIG’s KM Model

Knowledge Form by WIIG ModelKnowledge Form by WIIG Model
Public Knowledge
Sharing Knowledge
Personal Knowledge

CONTINUE…CONTINUE…
 The knowledge which is explicit and can be learned and
shared, called Public Knowledge.
 The knowledge which is an intellectual assets and held
exclusively by employees and shared during work or
embedded in technologies, called Sharing Knowledge.
 The knowledge which is the least accessible, but the most
complete form of knowledge. It’s usually tacit and used
without knowing, called Personal Knowledge.

KnowledgeTypes by WIIG ModelKnowledgeTypes by WIIG Model
Factual Knowledge
Conceptual Knowledge
Expectational Knowledge
Methodological Knowledge

Continue…Continue…
 That type of knowledge which deals with data and
measurements, and directly observable and verifiable, called
Factual Knowledge.
 That type of knowledge which deals with systems, concepts
and perspectives, called Conceptual Knowledge.
 That type of knowledge which deals with hypothesis,
judgments and expectations held by knowers, called
Expectational Knowledge.
 That type of knowledge which deals with reasoning,
strategies and decision making methods, called
Methodological Knowledge.

Key attributes of KMKey attributes of KM
Ruggles and Holtshouse (1999) identified the following key
attributes of knowledge management:
 Generating new knowledge.
 Accessing valuable knowledge from outside sources.
 Using accessible knowledge in decision making.
 Embedding knowledge in processes, products, and/or services.
 Representing knowledge in documents, databases, and software.
 Facilitating knowledge growth through culture and incentives.
 Transferring existing knowledge into other parts of the organization.
 Measuring the value of knowledge assets and/or impact of knowledge
management.

Terms used in KMTerms used in KM
 Knowledge architect is the staff member who oversees the definitions of knowledge
and intellectual processes and then identifies the technological and human resources
required to create, capture, organize, access and use knowledge assets.
 Knowledge assets, also called intellectual capital, are the human, structural and
recorded resources available to the organization. Assets reside within the minds of
members, customers, and colleagues and also include physical structures and recorded
media.
 Knowledge bridge is the connection that a KM expert builds between the business
processes and the technological, sociological, personal, financial, sales, creative, and
customer oriented functions of the organization.
 Employees and managers who contribute significantly to the intellectual capital of the
company are called knowledge workers.
 The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge
focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic
constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy.

The value of Knowledge assetsThe value of Knowledge assets
Knowledge assets are often described as the
intellectual capital of an organization
◦ The value of intellectual capital is often
intangible
◦ A popular measure is the difference between the
cost of capital assets and the cost of replacing
them

The value of KMThe value of KM
 It is important to manage knowledge assets because :
◦ Foster innovation by encouraging the free flow of ideas.
◦ Improve decision making
◦ Improve customer service by streamlining response time
◦ Boost revenues by getting products and services to market faster
◦ Enhance employee retention rates by recognizing the value of
employees' knowledge and rewarding them for it
◦ Streamline operations and reduce costs by eliminating redundant or
unnecessary processes.

The development of KMThe development of KM
 Knowledge began to be viewed as a competitive asset in
the 80s, around the same time information explosion
started becoming an issue
 The trend was fueled by the development of IT systems
which made it simple to store, display, and archive
classified, indexed information
 The process received a fillip after Ducker (and others)
stressed the role of knowledge as an organization resource
and Senge popularized ‘learning organizations'
 Seeds of KM may also be found in business practices like
TQM and BPR to which KM is often compared.

The sources of KMThe sources of KM
Today KM draws from a wide range of disciplines /
practices –
◦ Cognitive Science
◦ Groupware,AI
◦ Library and Information Science
◦ Document Management
◦ Decision support systems
◦ Technical writing
◦ Organizational Science
◦ Many more

Organizational Perspectives on KnowledgeOrganizational Perspectives on Knowledge
ManagementManagement
 Wiig (1993) considers knowledge management in organizations from
three perspectives, each with different horizons and purposes:
1. Business Perspective—focusing on why, where, and to what extent the
organization must invest in or exploit knowledge. Strategies, products and
services, alliances, acquisitions, or divestments should be considered from
knowledge-related points of view.
2. Management Perspective—focusing on determining, organizing, directing,
facilitating, and monitoring knowledge-related practices and activities
required to achieve the desired business strategies and objectives.
3. Hands-on Perspective—focusing on applying the expertise to conduct explicit
knowledge-related work and tasks

Why Is KM Important Today?Why Is KM Important Today?
 The major business drivers behind today’s increased interest
in and application of KM lie in four key areas:
1. Globalization of business.
2. Leaner organizations. We are doing more and we are doing it
faster, but we also need to work smarter as knowledge
workers, adopting an increased pace and workload.
3. “Corporate amnesia.” We are more mobile as a workforce, which
creates problems of knowledge continuity for the
organization and places continuous learning demands on the
knowledge worker.We no longer expect to spend our entire
work life with the same organization.
4. Technological advances.

The scope of KMThe scope of KM
Today most companies define the scope of KM as –
◦ KM mechanics (tools for information
management)
◦ KM culture (knowledge as a social activity)
◦ KM systems (knowledge sharing as a part of an
organization’s DNA)

KM mechanicsKM mechanics
 Information management may well be considered the first
wave of KM (and is still often considered synonymous with
KM)
 Information management tries to make the right
information available to the right person at the right time
through a variety of database driven information
applications
 Information management tools try to capture the human
experience of knowledge through the collecting, classifying,
disseminating, searching, indexing and archival power of
information technology

KM cultureKM culture
All knowledge has a social and evolutionary facet
There is a crying need for subject knowledge to
continuously re-examine and modify
It is important to keep the human and social elements
of organization involved in all stored knowledge

KM culture through CoPKM culture through CoP
Communities of practice (or thematic groups)
are popular way of injecting KM culture in an
organization
CoPs are for where members share information
and experiences, develop new insights,
assimilate and transform knowledge
CoPs emphasize shared interests and work
across locations and time zones (often using
technology developed during KM’s first wave)

KM systemsKM systems
 KM succeeds fully when it is woven into the fabric of an
organization and becomes intrinsic to an organization’s
processes.
 Common practices include
◦ Formal KM leadership
◦ Formal rewards and recognitions for KM oriented work
◦ Tools and mechanisms that encourage knowledge sharing
◦ Development of knowledge bases
◦ Intellectual asset management
◦ Metrics to evaluate KM initiatives

KM systems todayKM systems today
In many ways the systemic approach is the
logical culmination of KM mechanics and KM
culture
Many KM systems are however not yet robust
enough-
◦ KM metrics (surveys, benchmarking, cost/benefit
studies, service evaluation) are still an inexact science
◦ Knowledge workers are often KM resistant (KM is
frequently considered an oxymoron)

Technologies that support KMTechnologies that support KM

Technologies that support KMTechnologies that support KM
These technologies roughly correlate to four main stages of the KM life cycle:
• Knowledge is acquired or captured using intranets, extranets, groupware, web
conferencing, and document management systems.
 An organizational memory is formed by refining, organizing, and storing
knowledge using structured repositories such as data warehouses.
 Knowledge is distributed through education, training programs, automated
knowledge based systems, expert networks.
 Knowledge is applied or leveraged for further learning and innovation via
mining of the organizational memory and the application of expert systems
such as decision support systems.
All of these stages are enhanced by effective workflow and project management.

KM’s three-tiered view:KM’s three-tiered view:
• Helps people do their jobs and save time through better decision making and problem
solving.
• Builds a sense of community bonds within the organization.
• Helps people to keep up to date.
• Provides challenges and opportunities to contribute.
Individuals
• Develops professional skills.
• Promotes peer-to-peer mentoring.
• Facilitates more effective networking and collaboration.
• Develops a professional code of ethics that members can follow.
• Develops a common language.
Communities
• Helps drive strategy.
• Solves problems quickly.
• Diffuses best practices.
• Improves knowledge embedded in products and services.
• Cross-fertilizes ideas and increases opportunities for innovation.
• Enables organizations to stay ahead of the competition better.
• Builds organizational memory.
Organizations

THE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF KMTHE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF KM
Some critical KM challenges are to manage content
effectively, facilitate collaboration, help knowledge
workers connect and find experts, and help the
organization to learn and make decisions based on
complete, valid, and well interpreted data, information,
and knowledge.

Case study of NTPC& POEWRGRIDCase study of NTPC& POEWRGRID
 This article outlines the knowledge management processes through an empirical study of the two
leading power companies of India that is, NTPC and POWERGRID.The study has been carried out in
these two companies by using secondary and primary data collected from various published sources
besides from the companies under study.
Objective
 The objectives of the study are twofold: (i) to delineate the processes of knowledge management in
NTPC and POWERGRID, and (ii) to find out the tools that are enabling the knowledge management
processes in these two companies to come into being and getting strengthened besides creating ‘ripple
effect’.
Analysis and Results
 The creation of knowledge in NTPC and POWERGRID has been through Research & Development
Department of NTPC and Technology Development Department of POWERGRID.The creation of tacit
knowledge has been taking place in the minds of their personnel which get posted in the knowledge
management portal under LAKSHYA in NTPC and Knowledge Bank in POWERGRID. Both of the
companies have been using knowledge management technology through information and communication
technology tools. So far as the acquisition of knowledge is concerned, the two companies under study
have been found to take benefit of their networking with suppliers, stakeholders, vendors, customers,
regulators and power traders. So far as the collation of knowledge nuggets is concerned, NTPC and
POWERGRID are undertaking this exercise by maintaining and updating their knowledge management
portals.
Conclusion
 The entire gamut of knowledge management processes of NTPC and POWERGRID has come of age
and it may be emulated by other power companies in India.Awareness about these processes should be
created in a big way in NTPC and POWERGRID to develop the knowledge sharing culture. (At this
stage, NTPC should go for Knowledge Audit so that they could get an in-depth understanding of the
dynamics of knowledge management processes and may improve on the short comings and pitfalls
especially in view of the fact that POWERGRID has partially conducted this while preparing its
Knowledge Maps and Matrices [POWERGRID, 2011]).
Krishna Nath Pandey/Global Business Review/SAGE Publications/2014 IMI

Case study of IT industriesCase study of IT industries
 The main objective for conducting this study is to understand the basic reason for introduction, the
management, and practice of knowledge as a tool for organizational effectiveness.Also the study
focuses on the corporate culture and its importance on such introduction and maintenance.
 The study has been conducted in IT industries based at Kolkata and Hyderabad.There are altogether
194 software industries of which 148 are at Hyderabad and 46 at Kolkata. Data were collected from
20 companies which is 9.70%.
 The data also show that the responsibility of introducing KM in most of the sample organizations lie
on HR department.A few of them like TCS, Infosys, IBM, Oracle, and Satyam Computers have their
learning centers or knowledge management team, who are responsible for strategizing to
implementation. But basically it is the top management belief pattern, values and culture which either
helps or makes it difficult to initiate and grow such practices in the organization. Stephen Denning
mentioned “where knowledge changes the status quo, the culture of the organization can constitute
a significant impediment to useful knowledge being shared".The organizations likeWipro,TCS,
Siemen's Information Systems ,SSI Datametics, Techspan, IBM Global, Infosys, Satyam and Accenture
have taken the lead by modeling their people processes as per the people CMM model which has
been developed by Software Engineering Institute (SEI).
 It provides what an organization must do to improve and mature its people practices and to get
appropriate results through surveys and other assessment methods.
 People also should have a shared understanding of what a knowledge driven company is all about
and its impact.Thus knowledge management, if initiated and cultivated with all strategic intent and
supported by the top decision makers is going to bring positive change in the organization-its people,
process and practices.
2011 3rd International Conference on Information and Financial Engineering
IPEDR vol.12 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore/Dr . Santwana Chaudhuri

Case study of XEROXCase study of XEROX
 The main objectives of the study were to know the process of KM in Xerox Corporation and its
competitive advantage and the KM initiatives taken by the company. It also highlights the key
factors which made an impact for successful implementation of KM in Xerox Corporation. The
study was purely based on secondary data. The secondary data was obtained from sources such as
Journals, Books, and Websites.
CONCLUSION
 In today‘s business climate, capturing staff knowledge and managing that data is more critical.
Knowledge Management is a major enabler for organization effectiveness. From the Xerox
perspective, the force which drives knowledge sharing is to providing incentives, and dominance of
community practice than technology.
 Although Xerox began making conscious efforts to position itself as a knowledge company in the
21st century, it is believed that it was a knowledge company since its inception. Today‘s more
balanced view of KM is, a combination of managing explicit information resources as well as
managing the working environment and people so that tacit knowledge is more readily developed,
shared and exploited.
 In Xerox Corporation‘s KM is one of the competitive advantages and helps the company to sustain
its market place. It also does add value to an organization‘s bottom line, and though difficult to
prove directly, new measuring instruments like Eureka, DocuShare and innovative Knowledge Hub
have helped the company, stakeholders and customers identify the sources of value more clearly.
Xerox Corporation has understood that the importance of KM and their initiatives are considered
to be the best practice in any Industry.
IJAMBU Volume 1 Issue 1 Oct-Dec 2013/ Subraja. S,
ISSN 2348-1382 (Online) 06/05/15

Case study of ICICI BankCase study of ICICI Bank
Objective:
 This paper makes an exploratory study about Knowledge Management in practice at ICICI
(India) and tries to identify the critical success factors of Knowledge Management. A small
survey was done among 31 employees of ICICI and based on their responses a factor analysis
was carried out. This resulted in identification of the critical success factors. A personal
observation of the system at work also makes attempt to understand whether Knowledge
Management can fulfill some of the needs of the technical and professional workforce.
Conclusion
 KM at ICICI began on an experimental basis and carried on expanding and exploring, widening
its ambit of operations. No additional funding was required and nobody was under compulsion
to use the site. The relatively young age group of the employees and support provided by the
top management had led to the progress of the concept of knowledge management. It has not
made any model to follow unlike Wipro has done. At present it is in a state of growth and flux
and new sections and links are being added in the Wiseguy. Maybe in the next couple of years
it will begin to consolidate and clearly define its objective of existence or else merge into the
Intranet and be a part of corporate communications.
The Journal of Nepalese Business Studies/Vol. V No.1/Dec-2008/ Chandana Goswami
06/05/15

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