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An Introduction to KnowledgeManagement:
Lecture 1
Master of Comp
uter ScienceCourse: Technology / Knowledge Management
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Properties of knowledge
is , in a strict sense, only created by individuals; is perpetuallyexpandable; can be stored in heads, technical repositories (iebooks, databases, etc)
can be stored systematically is often in summary form ie precodified can, in principle, be shared can be forgotten, ignored, not used
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What is knowledge management?
One of the hottest buzzwords in the corporate world (FT,1999)
A concept as vague as it is widespread (Roberts, 2000)
The systematic management of knowledge processes bywhich knowledge is identified, gathered, shared and applied(FT, 1999)
The systematic and organised attempt to use knowledgewithin an organisation to improve performance (KPMG, 1999)
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Some knowledge concepts
Explicit knowledge Tacit knowledge Stickiness Absorptive capacity Thin and thick knowledge (Holden, 2002)
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Explicit knowledge
Knowledge which can be articulated in formallanguage including grammatical statements,mathematical expressions, specifications, manuals
and so forth [and] thus can be transmitted acrossindividuals formally and easily (Nonaka andTakeuchi, 1995).
Key properties of explicit knowledge: codification and
transferability
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Tacit knowledge
Personal, context-specific, and therefore hard toformalize and communicate (Nonaka and Takeuchi,
1995) Key properties of tacit knowledge: embeddedness in
social systems, values, cultural behaviour andpractices; needs a domain expert
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Stickiness
Stickiness refers to the difficulty associated withcodifying knowledge, i.e. turning it into explicittransmittable information. Readers will doubtless
have encountered the problem of stickiness onoccasion, when trying to get a thought down onpaper(Burton-Jones, 2000).
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Absorptive capacity
Whereas stickiness slows down the export ofknowledge, absorptive capacity affects how easilythe recipient can understand it. Prior knowledge of a
particular knowledge domain or subject tends tomake it easier to understand new information that isrelated to that knowledge domain. (Burton-Jones,2000).
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Thin knowledge and thick knowledge
Thin knowledge:The minimum amount ofknowledge assumed by a knowledge user to benecessary for a specific objective ie to support a
decision.
Thick knowledge: Knowledge which is very rich,very wide-ranging, and is arcane ie requires
specialist knowledge to be understood (Holden,2002)
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Knowledge work (leveraging of knowledge)
Generation: acquisition and creation
Codification and storage Distribution and transfer Implementation
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Knowledge generation: acquisition and creation
Acquisition of external knowledge (mergers,consultants, recruiting, patent acquisition)
Setting up of interdisciplinary project teamsthat incluse suppliers or customers
Brain-storming
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Codification and storage
Manuals, databases, case studies, marketreports; the language in which or about whichis classified and codified and available in, say,
a company documentary resource centre
The knowledge in the heads of employees
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Distribution and transfer
Provision of the right knowledge to the rightperson at the right time
IT applications (Internet or Intranet), (but inwhich languages?)
Transfer of knowledge among, say, employeesby training programmes
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Implementation
The key task of knowledge management: theapplication of knowledge in a locallyappropriate format
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Four dimensions of knowledgemanagement
Decision support
Organisational learning
Knowledge sharing
Networking
in conjunction with systematic (computer- based)
approaches and standardised routines to maximizevalue of human interaction
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Organizational learning:assumptions and challenges
Firms (i.e. people in firms) must learn from amultiplicity of environments and distribute theaccumulated knowledge throughout their
networks
Two problems: changing peoples mindsetsand their behaviour
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Organizational learning:three key challenges
The learning is not just the acquisition ofinformation, but the becoming of a part of acommunity
The critical interface is the communityboundary
Knowledge transfer entails acts of negotiation
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Networks and organisational learning
These days firms do more and more projectsin teams, in which members share theirnetworks (i.e. access to resources)
The sharing of networks is a key form oforganisational learning and negotiationthrough YOUas a team member
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A network approach to negotiation
Negotiation serves to clarify: (a) who is going to share with whom which
mutually held resources
and (b) the degree of access to thoseresources anddegree of compensation orindebtedness
under given circumstances
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On other words ...
Networking is a kind ofnegotiating
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Factors constraining knowledge transfer:KPMG survey 1999
423 companies in Europe and USA:lack of time to share knowledge (62%)
failure to use knowledge effectively (57%)
difficulty capturing tacit knowledge (50%)
also: lack of user uptake, failure to integrateknowledge management systems, lack of training,lack of time to learn and understand benefits
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Other constraints
Lack of knowledge policy in 80% of 470 companies surveyedby the British Institute of Management (Sunday Times, 2000)
90% of 4,500 scientists, engineers and managers in NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia did not have access to learningbenefits (Sunday Times, 2000)
Lack of trust; different cultures, vocabularies, frames ofreference; lack of time, problem of rewards, lack of
absorptive capacity (Davenport and Prusak, 1998)
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Success and failure
British Petroleum: operating costs of BP Venezuela arereduced by a team of eight, using knowledge managementtechniques, from $70m to $40m in seven weeks(Dixon,
2000)
GM tries to transplant Japanese production know-how:170,000 workers laid off in 125 factories in US, Canada,Mexico, Singapore and Japan; $2bn loss of production per
week to the US (Tackney, 2000)
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Contrasting approaches to promote knowledgesharing: Novo Nordisk
1997: The Facilitator concept 14 managers in pairs facilitate NN units world-wide
in order to (a) ensure conformity with company
standards and policies and (b) to act as catalysts forleveraging knowledge and best practices
This is the diffusion technique)
(Holden, 2001)
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Contrasting approaches to promote knowledgesharing: Sulzer Infra
Development of corporate university to make thecompany a knowledge-based organisation
Organisation of intensive seminars, attended by
100+ managers from all over Europe to promotenetworking.
This is the integrative approach
(Holden, 2001)
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Knowledge management: international issues
Language and cultural barriers make the distinctionbetween tacit and explicit knowledge problematical
International (cross-cultural) knowledge-sharing and
collaborative learning involves translation (literal andmetaphorical)
Need for a new kind of knowledge worker
(Holden, 2001)
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