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Knowledge ManagementBombay University - 29th Aug 08

Course: Media and Knowledge Management

 

Manjushri P DhumeSr. Knowledge Management Consultant.

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Agenda

• Morning session

• Knowledge Management - Introduction

– Why KM?

– What is KM?

– Benefits of KM

• Knowledge Management – Fundamentals

– What is knowledge

– Types of knowledge

– Knowledge Life Cycle

– Knowledge Management defined

• Afternoon session

• Knowledge Management - Dimensions

– Content Dimension

– People Dimension

– Process Dimension

– Technology Dimension

• KM Challenges

• Some Critical Success Factors

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The rapid advances and wide spread prevalence of Information & Communication technologies has resulted in a phenomenal rise of knowledge workers…

Why KM?

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and a corresponding change in the Organizational Environment

Why KM?

20th Century

•Functional departments in single locations•9 to 5, Monday to Friday working•Hierarchical management structures with fixed roles•Emphasis on intra-organizational working•Organizationally structured training and development

21st Century

•Geographically distributed individuals with remote and mobile working•24/7 society•Flatter management structures, matrix management, multi-tasking and project team based•Greater emphasis on partnership and alliances•Personally tailored training and development

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Knowledge workers face a lot of challenges:

•Gathering knowledge relevant to a task or problem-it may be distributed across different storage systems and different media

•Analyzing the knowledge they have gathered and make sense of it

•Sharing knowledge with their colleagues

•Keeping track of the process- by being aware of what one is doing, what one needs to do next, and what others are doing

•What to search for, what analysis is needed and who to share with - depend on the task in hand and the current stage of the process

Why KM?

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Knowledge Trickle

Action

Outdated

Irrelevant

No context

Inaccessible

Inaccurate

Incomplete

Knowledge workers challenges……

•90% of info used comes from others. 75% of that is from memory•80% of employees spend, 30 mins/day retrieving information•Paper consumption in U.S. tripled to 1,800 pounds / person in 10 years•60% of the average office worker's time is spent processing documents•A typical business manager is said to read one million words per week•A Sunday edition of the New York Times carries more information than the average 19th-century citizen accessed in his entire life •Web is growing by 2M pages a day and is now over 8B pages thick•83% of sites contain commercial content and only 6% contain scientific or educational content

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Relating to Media…

• Are people working in media and communication - knowledge workers?

• What is the nature of work?

• What challenges do they face?

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Retrieve & Display Knowledge

•Pressures on Productivity

•Continuous Improvement in Quality

•Quick Turnaround times

•De-risking ‘Attrition’

•Pace of change: Need for innovation

Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management

KM Business drivers…

According to a Gartner study:

72% of the 811 companies studied rated “improving Competitive response” as a major reason for practicing KM and 46% rated “Globalization” as a major factor

But Why Now?

Time to market Globalization Virtual Team WorkPhysical Resource Saturation Enabling TechnologiesInfo Overload

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Knowledge Management defined…

Knowledge Management is a management practice that leverages past and current knowledge in the organization to drive business.

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… so why KM?

•Leveraging current expertise

•Enabling quick ramp-ups

•De-risking attrition in the organization

•Capturing & sharing best practices

•Continuous innovation

•Better quality delivery

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Relating to media and communication

• Do do you manage knowledge while working on your projects? How? What benefits do you get?

• Are you aware of your industry practices for KM?

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E&Y’s PowerPacks helped them slash proposal preparation time from 3 weeks to 3 days

K-sharing in their FDA application process helped J&J make an additional $30M for a drug

Ford’s Best Practice database contributes to more than 40% of ’productivity’

Xerox’s ‘Eureka’ helps them save 4-5% on labor and cost of spares

Shell’s knowledge sharing resulted in an increase of 500 barrels/day

Business Gains of KM …

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Investment in KM …

CompanyEmployee

Strength

KM Spend (USD) per year

KM Group StrengthPer

Employee

As % of revenues

Accenture 75000 6700 - 550

McKinsey 7700 45500 10 -

Ernst & Young 85000 7100 6 270+

Royal Dutch-Shell 10000 500 - -

Knowledge Management Fundamentals

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What do these mean to you?

•NH 38 runs through Goa? •38 branches of First Save Bank in Goa? •Goa is the 38th entry STD list?

Data

InformationGoa 38

Goa 38

The temperature at Goa is 38 degrees

It could mean anything!!

Let’s add some context to it Weather

Information

Experience: 38 Deg C is too hot. Hot weather gives sunburns, saps energy, sun stroke

Knowledge

Appropriate action

Values, Experience, Intuition

Symbols / characters / numbers / words

What? / Who? Where?, When?

Why? How?

What is Knowledge?

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What is Knowledge?

Knowledge is information that changes something or

somebody -- either by becoming grounds for actions, or by

making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or

more effective action."

-- Peter F. Drucker in " The New Realities "

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KnowledgeWhy? How?

Information What? / Who? Where?, When?

DataSymbols / characters / numbers

The K-I-D Structure….

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Types of Knowledge

A well-known classification is based on the fundamental contribution of Polanyi (1967),

Explicit – knowledge that should be relatively easy to formalize, transfer, or store. It is objective and rational knowledge that can be expressed in words, sentences, numbers or formulas. Examples…

Implicit - pertaining to ideas, feelings, and individual experience, and subjective therefore much more complex to share. It includes cognitive skills such as beliefs, images, intuition and mental models as well as technical skills such as craft and know-how. Examples…

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Types of Knowledge

Other classifications are based on the content of knowledge (Alavi andLeidner, 2001; Zack, 2001):

Know – about: declarative/descriptive knowledgeKnow – how: procedural knowledge Know – why: casual/relational knowledge Know – who: knowledge of the “sources of knowledge”Know – with: relational knowledge

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Types of Knowledge

Shallow Procedural KnowledgeKnowledge Knowledge of how to do a task that is essentially motor in nature; the same knowledge is used over and over again.

  Declarative Knowledge  Surface-type information that is available in short-term memory and easily verbalized; useful in early stages of knowledge capture but less so in later stages. _______________________________________________ Semantic Knowledge  Hierarchically organized knowledge of concepts, facts, and relationships among facts. _______________________________________________  Episodic Knowledge  Knowledge that is organized by temporal spatial means, not by concepts or relations; experiential information that is chunked by episodes. This knowledge is highly compiledDeep and autobiographical and is not easy to extract or capture.

Knowledge

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Relating to Media and communications

• Examples of tacit and explicit knowledge from your industry?

• From each role in O&M?

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Knowledge as an Attribute of Expertise

•An expert in a specialized area masters the requisite knowledge

•The unique performance of a knowledgeable expert is clearly noticeable in decision-making quality

•Knowledgeable experts are more selective in the information they acquire

•Experts are beneficiaries of the knowledge that comes from experience

•Academic knowledge contributes to conceptual knowledge—a prerequisite for practical knowledge

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Mike Burk, Knowledge Management: Everyone Benefits by Sharing Information, Public Roads, December 1999· Vol. 63· No. 3

KM Core Process / Knowledge Cycle

Creation

Storage

Sharing

Apply

-Publications

-Conferences

-Project Experiences

-Research

-Industry Expertise

-Best Practices

-Work in Progress

-Raw Data

-Filter

-Catalog

-Create Outside Links

-Document

-Distribute

-Collaborate

-Resolve

-Search for Examples-Ask a Colleague-Find Exhibit

-Research Results

-Lessons Learned

-Specifications

-Product Performance

Reuse/Revise

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Creation Storage Sharing Apply

Nonaka and Takeuk‘s Knowledge Spiral

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/history_knowledge/nonaka.html

Knowledge Creation

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Creation Storage Sharing ApplyKnowledge Creation

Nonaka models knowledge creation/conversion/transfer as a spiral process.

Externalization - from Tacit to Explicit : Articulation among people through dialog. Articulate "conceptual" tacit knowledge explicitly through the use of such techniques as metaphors and models. In externalization, individuals commit and become one with the group transcending both inner and outer boundaries of the self. This can include the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and experiences. Combination - from Explicit to Explicit: Explicit knowledge is converted into more complex and systematic forms of explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is collected from either internally or externally to the organization and then combined, edited and processed to form new knowledge. The new knowledge is then disseminated across the organization in company reports, digital format etc

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Creation Storage Sharing ApplyKnowledge Creation

Nonaka models knowledge creation/conversion/transfer as a spiral process.

Internalization - from Explicit to Tacit: This is "learning by doing" and sharing mental models and technical know-how. Explicit knowledge contained in texts and manuals that can be reflected upon by trainees enriching their current tacit knowledge base is one example of internalization.Socialization - from Tacit to Tacit: Sharing experiences with others (sympathized knowledge). Experience among customers, suppliers, and colleagues in face-to-face meetings and direct interaction inside and outside the organization. Since tacit knowledge is subjective and difficult to articulate, it requires exchange through shared experiences (i.e., living in the same environment). Traditional apprenticeships relied on this transfer of tacit knowledge through hands-on experiences as opposed to information found in written texts or manuals.

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The Knowledge Creation Spiral

SocializationSocialization ExternalizationExternalization

InternalizationInternalization CombinationCombination

Learning by Learning by DoingDoing

BuildiBuildingngCommCommononGrounGroundd

LinkingLinkingExplicitExplicitKnowledKnowledgege

DialogueDialogue

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Nonaka’s model

• Each type of knowledge can be converted. When viewed as a continuous learning process, the model becomes a clockwise spiral; organizational learning depends on initiating and sustaining the learning spiral. (The model is a spiral, not a cycle, because as one “learns” around the spiral, understanding moves to deeper and deeper levels.)

(see http://www.knowledge-nurture.com/web/bulabdoc.nsf/By+Title/86B566634BC84EA28625662C005C1996/$FILE/NONAKA.PDF)

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Knowledge Storage Creation Storage Sharing Apply

• Filtering, Codifying

• Organizing and representing knowledge before it is accessed by authorized personnel• The organizing part is usually in the form of a decision tree, a decision table, or a frame• Converting tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge in a usable form• Converting undocumented to documented information• Making corporate-specific knowledge visible, accessible, and usable for decision making

Elias M. Awad Hassan M. Ghaziri , Knowledge Management, 2002 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.A Pearson Education Company 2002

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Creation Storage Sharing Apply

KnowledgeDistribute

Organizationalculture

KnowledgeStandardization

CollaborativeTools

Online AnalyticalProcessing

Tools

Effective SearchEngines

Work Norms

Attitude based onmutual trust

Vocationalreinforcers

Personality

Companystrategies and

policies

Impediments to Knowledge Sharing

Internal Integration: the practice of getting information and intellectual resources to an individual or team when they need it.

Getting the Right Knowledge, to the Right People, at the Right Time,

and at the Right Cost. External collaboration: Making the most of what we want to know End-to-end synchronization

M. Awad, Hassan M. Ghaziri, Knowledge Management, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River, 2002

Knowledge Sharing

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• Knowledge Based Supply Chain Management

• Knowledge Applications in Design

• Knowledge Applications in Manufacturing

• …………..

Creation Storage Sharing ApplyKnowledge Application

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KM - the definition wars: What the Guru’s say?

Creation, acquisition and transfer of knowledge and modification of organizational behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights

Garvin

The art of creating value from an organization’s intangible assets

Sveiby

Policies, procedures and technologies employed for operating a continuously updated linked pair of networked databases

Anthes

Bringing tacit knowledge to the surface, consolidating it in forms by which it is more widely accessible, and promoting its continuing creation

Birkett

Understanding the relationships of data; Identifying and documenting rules for managing data; and Assuring that data are accurate and maintain integrity

Strapko

Processes of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge

Davenport

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We believe that KM is…

People, Process and Technology directed towards the harvest and

reuse of organizational knowledge

Create Capture Store Retrieve / Distribute Apply / Reuse

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Process

Technology

People

Knowledge @ Infosys

ContentInternal & externalContent classified as content types

•Content creation •Content quality• Incentivization • Content reuse • Metrics & ROI

• Users• Authors• Reviewers• Experts• Evangelizers

To support knowledge capture, storage, sharing, retrieval and collaboration

KM Dimensions

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Knowledge Management Dimensions – in detail

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Content Dimension

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Content

Origin

Type

Internal / External

Cases, Literature, proposals etc…

• Internal White Papers• Reports• Reusable Artifacts• Training Materials• Case Studies• Design documents

• Glossary• Trends • Book Reviews: • Reviewed Website• Online Journals & books• Technology and Business

News

ExternalInternal

Content Dimension

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Knowledge Management Architecture

• Knowledge management requires several components:

– Access to both internal and external information sources,– Repositories that contain explicit knowledge,– Processes to acquire, refine, store, retrieve, disseminate

and present knowledge,– Organizational incentives and management roles to

support these activities,– People who facilitate, curate, and disseminate knowledge

within the organization.– Information technology to provide automation support for

many of the above activities,

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Managing Content - some definitions• Taxonomy:

– List of vocabulary and their relationships

– A framework for classification of entities – say, for classifying animals, birds, documents, books, mechanical parts,

• Directory– The presentation of the taxonomy

• Metadata– Information about the information– Example: the publication is

authored by XYZ• Thesaurus

– Related words– Synonyms– Subsets and supersets

• Example: Pizza; meal, Italian Pizza

We manage information by classifying them intuitively

Are the C drives of people working in the same dept. same?

WHY SO?

NO

There are more than one correct way

But they could be short of the optimal option

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The Need for classification

• Browse / Navigation vs “Search”

– Context based precision retrieval of information

– Example: search for docs on “tax”, you will end up getting docs on “syntax” as well

• Representation of the mental map of the users or the line of business of the organization• Helps in promoting a single organizational language common to

– Employees

– Customers

– Partners and vendors

(Aligning taxonomy to business goals and directions)• Absence of a well developed taxonomy leads to

– Inconsistent naming of products, services and other items of info resulting in inconsistent response to stakeholders

– Inaccurate user input

– Names and terms not intuitive enough to attract the attention of users / customers

• Can become the backbone for a variety of knowledge services

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CRM system

Single Taxonomy driving multiple applications

Content

Taxonomy

Content Subscripti

onDiscussion

Forums

Content

classificatio

n and

Search Tool

Skills MapProject

Mgt. Tool

Training System

Manpower planning

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ONM content Dimension

• Content Types:

Presentations, market information on sectors, research, creative work, competitive advertising, case studies, useful links, photographic references, bibliography, other studies, quotations, documents, Toolkit, consumer insights, papers, internet links, credentials, client lists,

• Content Classification:

Classification based on NWD (Needs, wants and desires)

Food and drink, housing, health, hygiene, money, grooming, knowledge, transportation, communication, socio-cultural, sex, entertainment, and business communication

Classification based on consumer segments

Kids, teenagers, homemakers, breadwinners and seniors

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ONM content Dimension

• Quality check on documents

• Identify valuable content – Cup representative for exceptional quality.

• Access restriction/

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People Dimension

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Visibility /Recognition

Org. benefits Joy of sharing Rewards /Incentives

Importance inappraisals /

growth

Peer /SuperiorPressure

R6

R5

R4

R3

R2

R1

Fig in % 59% 44% 42% 21% 18% 17%

Rank 1 or Rank 2

Source: Infosys KM Survey

Ranking

Why people share knowledge?

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KM Maturity

Curiosity factor, Build awareness, Generate trial

IncentivesPromotional tools

Increase trials. Hold existing users

Incentives, Visibility / recognition

Increase usage / involvement

Demonstrate benefitsVisibility / Recognition

Nurture

Demonstrate benefitsVisibility / RecognitionMake mandatory Testimonials

WIIFM? – the answer holds the key to KM successK

-Sha

ring

Incentives cannot be removed altogether. Different flavors of incentives at various stages are needed as boosters

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• At the first American Conference of Artificial Intelligence (1980), Edward Feignebaum coined the phrase “Knowledge Is Power”

• In 1997, a new field, called Knowledge Management, began from the realization of the tremendous value of knowledge to the corporate enterprise.

• Knowledge is more than equivalent to force -- Samuel Johnson

Knowledge is Power

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Internal KM Branding & Promotion

• Promotion campaigns have a singular focus – Recognize & celebrate the knowledge sharing efforts of the employee

• Work towards making KM, top of mind recall by every employee, for all the right reasons…

• Use contemporary & innovative themes in the campaign & mementoes

• Launch various reward and recognition schemes to encourage different forms of knowledge sharing within the organization

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Incentives for knowledge sharing

• Recognize contribution

• Rewards based on points – to be exchanged for gifts: Satchels, seat shirts, T-Shirts, coffee flasks for Valuable contributors

• Rewards for the first contributor

• Rewards for knowledge use.

Knowledge Management roles

• Knowledge officers

• Rewards based on points – to be exchanged for gifts: Satchels, seat shirts, T-Shirts, coffee flasks for Valuable contributors

• Rewards for the first contributor

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Other aspects of the ONM KM solution

• Push mechanism - Notification to users

• Make it easy to contribute

• Fun on the portal

• Strategic planning and insights – separate section

• Opinions on campaigns

• Locate experts – internal and external

• Publish from mailbox to the portal

• Discovery space – for tools and creative briefs, reviews, consumer contact reports, personal interpretations

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KM – Process Dimension

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Knowledge Management Process Model

AcquisitionAcquisitionAcquisitionAcquisition RefinementRefinementRefinementRefinement Storage/Storage/RetrievalRetrieval

Storage/Storage/RetrievalRetrieval DistributionDistributionDistributionDistribution PresentationPresentationPresentationPresentation

• ExpertiseExpertise

• Domain ModelDomain Model

• Business RulesBusiness Rules

•Ownership;Ownership;Federation Federation Agreements, Data Agreements, Data SourcesSources

• External Sources External Sources and Formats.and Formats.

•WrappersWrappers

• Politics of dataPolitics of data

• Data Cleansing Data Cleansing

• IndexingIndexing

• Metadata TaggingMetadata Tagging

•Concept Concept FormulationFormulation

• Information Information IntegrationIntegration

•Ontology & Ontology & Taxonomy Taxonomy

•Knowledge Knowledge Curation.Curation.

• Storage and Storage and indexing of indexing of KnowledgeKnowledge

• Concept-based Concept-based Retrieval Retrieval

• Retrieval by Retrieval by Author, Content, Author, Content, Threads, etc.Threads, etc.

• Knowledge Knowledge Security.Security.

• Intranet & Intranet & InternetInternet

• Knowledge Knowledge PortalsPortals

• XMLXML

• Active Active SubscriptionsSubscriptions

• Discussion Discussion Groups.Groups.

•Digital Rights Digital Rights ManagementManagement

• User Profiles for User Profiles for dynamic tailoring dynamic tailoring links.links.

• Knowledge Knowledge creation, update creation, update annotation, and annotation, and storage in storage in Knowledge Knowledge Repository.Repository.

•Collaboration Collaboration EnvironmentsEnvironments

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Decentralized people, systems and processes

• Anchors at development centers, business units• KM Councils in Business Units• Central and satellite repositories

– KM portal, repositories maintained by knowledge creators

– Content in multiple intranet systems – project databases, business units’ websites

• Processes enmeshed with core, day-2-day activities to enable knowledge sharing

KM processes integrated into the business workflowKM woven into the project execution process

– KM Processes for specific business functions – “KM in Projects”

– Project Primes identified at project level

– Facilitated by the KM Champs, Senior Mgrs / Quality Mgrs and Process Consultants networks

– Contribution and usage of knowledge assets tracked

– Usage metrics analyzed for business benefits – Q&P numbers

Organizational effectiveness – Knowledge management

The “People” aspect is supported by a decentralized organization structure and robust processes

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KM Benefits Tree

Skyrme, 1999

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Infosys has established a set of metrics to measure the effectiveness of Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management Metrics @ Infosys

Usage and Contribution Parameters

– # of k-assets– # of unique

contributors– # of experts

registered– Download rate per

day– # of discussion

forums– # of posts, replies– # of users replying to

queries

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KM – Technology Dimension

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Representation of Knowledge within a Community -- The Need for Tools

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IT for Knowledge Management

• Search Engines• Video Conferencing• Data Mining• Data Warehousing• Document Management• Multimedia Databases• Case-Based Reasoning

• Virtual Meetings• Brainstorming• GDSS• Collaborative Filtering• Web Push Technology• Expert Systems• Automated Helpdesk• Electronic Community

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KM Architecture – Another ViewKnowledgeWorker's

View

KnowledgeWorker's

View

Communication,Collaboration, and Sharing

KnowledgePortal

KnowledgePresentationLayer

KnowledgeManagementLayer

DataSourcesLayer

Knowledge ManagementProcesses

TextRepository

E-mailRepository

WebRepository

ExternalSources

FTP

Acquisition RefinementStorage/Retrieval

Distribution Presentation

DomainRepository

EnterpriseModel

KnowledgeFacilitators and

Knowledge Engineers

KnowledgeCurators

MediaRepository

KnowledgeRepository

Relational andOO Databases

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Knowledge Management System

KnowledgePortal &

Search Services

KnowledgePresentation& CreationLayer

KnowledgeManagementLayer

DataSourcesLayer

Collaborationand Messaging

Service

Video-Conferencing

Service

KnowledgeCreationServices

DataWarehouse

Information Integration Services

FederationServices

AgentServices

DataMiningServices

MetadataTaggingServices

KnowledgeCurationServices

DiscussionGroup

Services

Ontology &Taxonomy

Services

WorkflowManagement

Services

MediationServices

TextRepository

E-mailRepository

WebRepository

ExternalSources

FTP

DomainRepository

EnterpriseModel

MediaRepository

KnowledgeRepository

Relational &OO Databases

SecurityServices

DigitalRights

Management

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What are Communities of Practice?• A community can be defined as any group of people with a shared set

of values or beliefs• Communities of Practice are:

– The heart of a KM system.– Networks of people, small and large, who come together to share and to

learn from one another face-to-face and virtually. These communities – of practice, of interest, of learning – are held together by a common goal and purpose that is supported by a desire to share experiences, insights, and best practices.

– A diverse group of people engaged in real work over a significant period of time during which they build things, solve problems, learn and invent evolving a practice that is highly skilled and highly creative.

– An effective and vibrant means of sharing knowledge.

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Knowledge Management Architecture

• Knowledge management requires several components:

– Access to both internal and external information sources,– Repositories that contain explicit knowledge,– Processes to acquire, refine, store, retrieve, disseminate

and present knowledge,– Organizational incentives and management roles to

support these activities,– People who facilitate, curate, and disseminate knowledge

within the organization.– Information technology to provide automation support for

many of the above activities,

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Create Retain Distr. Apply

Review/ Revision

KM Core Processes/Knowledge Cycle-- NAN & YUCHAO

Social, Economic, Political I ssues

Cultural and Organizational I ssues

Organization, Team and I ndividual Learning

Technical I ssues and I nformation I nfrastructureCro

ss F

unct

iona

l Iss

ues

– X

UEP

ING

& S

WA

MI

G.D. Bhatt, Organizing Knowledge in the knowledge development cycle, Journal of Knowledge Management, 2000, V4 number 1, P 15-26

KM Architecture – Summary

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KM – Some Critical Success Factors

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Critical Success Factors – Some best practices!

• Create space for realizing Personal benefit– Incentivize / reward, give visibility, recognize champions

– Get testimonials on personal developmental gains

• Demonstrate Business benefit– Measure KM benefits

– Get testimonials on business gains

– Evangelize, Evangelize, Evangelize

• Create System Demand – Process pull: mandating certain knowledge sharing & reuse

– Performance indicators: link with performance appraisals, at the appropriate juncture

• Get active commitment and support from top management - resource, moral– (includes the setting up of cross-functional task force consisting of various stakeholders)

• Get buy in from middle management

• Strike the right balance between people oriented and repository oriented approaches – how much context can we capture?

– how amenable are we to technology-based approaches?

– what investment are we looking at?

• Strike the right balance between centralization and de-centralization– can we justify dedicated resources?

– accommodate all positions!

• Get and celebrate small victories; “Walk the Talk” soon - Pilot

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KM – Key challenges to overcome

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Top 10 KM Issues

Provide strategic advantage

Obtain top mgmt support

Maintain currency

Identify org. knowledge

Assess the financial issues

Verify the contribution

Best design and develop

Sustain KM’s progress

Ensure knowledge security

Motivate participation

HOW TO ?

William R. King, Peter V. Marks, Jr. , and Scott McCoy. “The most important issues in knowledge management”, Communications of the ACM, Sept. 2002/Vol. 45, No. 9

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Key Challenges to Overcome

• People Challenges

– Geographical spread of business units

– Absence of a knowledge sharing culture• What if he takes my knowledge and scores over me?

• How on earth do I find time?

• Hey! KM is for ignoramuses!

• It kills creativity

• Is it good enough an idea?

• WIIFM?

– Lack of interdependency in work areas

• Process challenges

– Multiplicity of processes, not aligned towards a common goal (e.g., customer facing processes not uniform and are duplicated across departments)

– Weak (or absence of) cross functional processes (e.g., Tenuous link between R&D, sales and marketing)

– Absence of best practice sharing across entities within an organization

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Key Challenges to Overcome

• Content Challenges

– Large volume of unstructured content within an organization due to lack of focus on documentation

– No clear responsibility allocation or ownership for maintaining currency of content

• Technology Challenges

– Myopic view of enterprise portals and user-interface technologies as knowledge management

– Make vs Buy decision– Ground-up vs Incremental build decision– Integration of knowledge management tools with legacy systems– Rapid adoption of IT is sometimes a challenge as it deters human

interaction

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Recommended Readings• Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Disciplines: The Art and Practice of the Learning

Organization• HBR on KM (1998)• Management Science. April 2003 Special Issue on KM• Koulopoulos et al., 2001, Corporate Instinct: Building a Knowing Enterprise for

the 21st Centruy• Koulopoulos et al., 2001, The X-Economy• Allee, V., 1997, The Knowledge Evolution, Building Organizational Intelligence• Cortada and Woods, 2000, The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000-

2001• Cunningham, 2001, Partners.com: How to profit from the DNA of Business• Dixon, 2000, Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What

They Know