This study examined how knowledge management systems are used by organizations to improve knowledge accessibility and sharing in order to increase workplace learning. The researchers conducted a collective case study of multiple organizations through interviews, documentation reviews, and observations. They found that non-academic organizations used knowledge management systems more effectively than academic organizations to improve performance metrics, customer service, and financial outcomes. The study recommends that organizations develop a coordinated knowledge management strategy with organizational support and a flexible framework tailored to their processes and culture.

1. Workplace Learning:
The Roles of Knowledge Accessibility and
Management
Jessica Li, Gary Baker, Angeline Champion, Tony Fuller, Sandy Gabel and Lori HatcherBusch (2008), “Workplace learning: the roles of knowledge accessibility and
management, Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 347 – 364;

2. Reviewer
Michael Gezae

3. Authors
Jessica Li
 Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of North Texas
Gary Baker
Angeline
Champion
Tony
Fuller
Sandy
Gabel
 They are all graduate students at the University
Lori
Hatcher-Busch

4. Purpose
Examining how knowledge management systems have been used
by studied organizations to improve
• Knowledge Accessibility
and
• Knowledge Sharing
To increase workplace learning

5. Research Questions
1.How organizations use knowledge management systems to aid
workplace learning?
2.What specifically do organizations use to increase knowledge
accessibility, thus increase knowledge sharing and support
workplace learning?

6. Methodology/Approach
• Collective case study approach
• Case study helps to optimize understanding by looking beyond what has been
learnt in academia to what is being applied
• Multiple helps to add confidence to the findings and increase the reliability of
the study
• Data Collection
• In depth semi structured Interviews
• Review of Company Documents
• Onsite observations

7. Interview Guides
1. What systems does your organization have in place that helps
capture tacit knowledge and convert it to explicit knowledge to
improve workplace learning?
2. What plans do you have for improving knowledge sharing in your
organization?
3. How have the systems that you have in place improved
performance?
4. Based on your experience, what would you recommend to other
organizations wanting to increase knowledge sharing in their
organization?

8. Cont.
• Data Analysis
• Open coding
• Thematic Analysis
• Data Triangulation achieved by
– Data collection through various methods (interview, observation, documentation)
– Interviewing at multiple levels within the organization (managerial/non-managerial)
• Data analyzed first within a case and then across cases
• Initial analysis and identification of themes by each author
individually
• Then multiple discussions were held until consensus was reached

9. Findings
Organized according to the four interview guides
1. Current systems of KM
–
Lack of overarching learning strategy
–
Academic organizations lag behind non-academic organizations in KM
Initiatives.
2. Plans to improve knowledge sharing
•
Different solutions were sought to share/transfer knowledge

10. Findings cont.
3. How KM systems helped in improving performance
•
In non-academic organizations
–
Improved corporate performance
–
Better customer service
–
Lower support response time
–
Better product knowledge
–
Improved internal processes
–
Improved financial performance
–
Increased external company recognition

11. Findings cont.
• In academic Organizations
–
Increased ability to utilize learning technologies
–
New program identification & higher awareness
–
Increased co-ordination
–
Increased ability to share expertise with colleagues
–
Empowerment (decision making moved to lower level of the org’n)

12. Findings cont…
4. Recommendations for Other Organizations
– Organizational support is key to KM effort
• Organizational learning culture,
• Management,
• Financial,
• Technical, and
• Personnel support
– Suitable framework that facilitates a coordinated and centralized effort
• Consistent effort to embrace and utilize KM practices
• Flexible framework to be modified based on business constraints and needs

13. Conclusions
• A conducive organizational learning context will positively influence both
formal and informal learning
• Understanding of underlying business processes is important so as to be able
• Create an overarching framework of capturing, storing, and sharing
knowledge
• Fit to the organizational learning culture
• Difference in business processes of academic and non-academic
organizations requires different KM systems
• Not having an overarching strategy and adequate financial and personnel
support to facilitate a coordinated and centralized effort could result in a
deficiency in organization’s ability to support knowledge aaccessibility and
sharing.

14. Summary of critiques
• Hence, while examining this subject is beneficial to understand how it is
implemented in some organizations in one part of the world; due to the
unrepresentativeness of the sample and the approach of the study, I cannot
say that new perspectives are gained.
• The findings and the recommendations are already clearly explained in
literatures, although pointing out them in a context of some organizations
might help similar organizations to have an insight into the subject.
• Most of their findings and recommendation are basic and fundamental to
knowledge management initiatives which are still applicable. Hence, even
though the findings and recommendations are not new, they can still bring the
topic to the forefront and initiate or entice further research.

15. Cont…
• With regard to writing style and structure, the authors followed a clear and
understandable approach for readers who are familiar with research
methodologies. However, for non-experts it seems that some terminologies
and approaches might have been explained in a better way.
• The article’s purpose and arguments are clear. The research questions are
clearly illustrated. The findings are applicable to organizations in a similar
situation.
• In discussing the results the authors are consistent with the findings.
Moreover, it can be seen that the conclusion clearly emanates from the data
collected and discussed.

16. Do you have any questions
Thank You!

17. PS
• In qualitative research coding is the process of generating ideas and concepts
from raw data such as interview transcripts, field notes, archival
materials, reports, newspaper articles, and art. The coding process refers to
the steps the researcher takes to identify, arrange, and systematize the
ideas, concepts, and categories uncovered in the data. Coding consists of
identifying potentially interesting events, features, phrases, behaviors, or
stages of a process and distinguishing them with labels.
• Open coding - a close line-by-line reading of the data in a search to identify as
many ideas and concepts as possible without concern for how they relate
• Data triangulation – drawing on multiple sources of data
• Thematic analysis - each new piece of information is examined in light of a
particular research question in order to construct a tentative answer to the
question. Tentative answers are categorized into themes. This process
continues until themes emerge that are well supported by all available
information