Knowledge Management Process Framework

Dr. Gita A Kumta

Imperatives of Knowledge Management

Knowledge acquisition
Process of development & creation of insights, skills and relationships

Knowledge Sharing
Comprises disseminating and making available what is already known-a collaborative process

Knowledge utilisation
Capability to find knowledge when needed and be able to use it

Sharing Knowledge
Helping knowers share what they know they know
Identifying and removing the obstacles to facilitate sharing

Helping knowers articulate and share what they do not know they know
Requires skilled observation, facilitation, interviewing techniques and ability to codify the knowledge in a form that many people can use

Collaborative Environment
The process of creating, sharing and applying knowledge requires collaboration Collaborative Activities
- brainstorming sessions - problem solving - idea generation - strategy planning meetings

Involves multiple people from different locations, functional mixes and operational bases

Knowledge Management Drivers

Organisational Structure Process Content - Knowledge Technology Economics

People

Knowledge Assets
Identify
Individual and Organizational Intellectual Capital Structured Intellectual Capital
What

Wisdom Knowledge Expert Information

Capture

How To
Client Value Structure Share-able

Results

Benefits
Competitiveness Operational Efficiency Growth in competency

Profit Customer Satisfaction

Manage
Reuse of Intellectual Capital

Share/Reuse

Knowledge Management Approaches

Codification Focus on enabling storage, indexing, retrieval and reuse Personalisation Focus on connecting knowledge workers through networks Exploration Focus on developing knowledge that creates new areas for its products & services Exploitation Focus on deriving financial and productivity gains from existing knowledge

Knowledge Management Process Framework

Defines how organisations generate, maintain and deploy a strategically correct stock of knowledge-based assets to create value. All elements within the tactical & strategic processes must be managed in relation to one another to achieve - right mix & amount of knowledge-based assets - capability to deploy them

Knowledge Conversion - Nonakas Model

Tacit to Tacit Tacit to Explicit

Socialisation
Individual knowledge
Explicit to Tacit

Externalisation
Individual & group knowledge
Explicit to Explicit

Internalisation
Individual, group, company knowledge

Combination
Group & company knowledge

Bukowitz and Williams Model

Knowledge Management Processes

Tactical Process
- Get - Use - Learn - Contribute

Strategic Process
- Assess - Build & Sustain - Divest

Tactical Process Get Imperatives

Articulate Awareness Access Guidance Completeness

Get - Articulate
Ability People can describe their information
needs

Challenges
Understand and communicate intended use of information Direct information requests appropriately

Approaches
Active search Look for a specific set of information. Passive search Announcement of an information need.
Responses flow back to the requestor.

Get - Articulate
Understand and communicate intended use of information
- Critical role played by intelligent interrogators - Need to grasp sufficient detail of the subject to understand what they are looking for, know it when they find it and know when they have found enough

At consulting firm Booz Allen & Hamilton, a corporate information specialist is part of every team At McKinsey & Company corporate information specialists take on the role of intelligent interrogators

Get - Awareness
Ability People know where to find the
knowledge resources

Challenges It is not enough to know what to look for, it is also necessary to know where to look for Approaches Provide signposts: directories, maps, yellow
pages

Use communities of practice to cast a spotlight on organisational knowledge

Get - Awareness
Finding expertise in large organisations can be a bewildering experience, full of of blind alleys and wrong turns. A Best Practice Resource Map at Chevron, a global oil giant Electronic forums around its core product line organised by Buckman Laboratories, a chemical manufacturer in Memphis Questions and latest information Corporate Yellow pages at Teltech, a research & knowledge services firm.

Get - Access
Ability People have the tools they need to find
and capture information

Challenges
Balance pushand pull technologies Involve the user in tailoring navigation and capture tools

Approaches
Pull: Searching through a large repository of information Push: Distribution of information to a users desktop by an information source

Get - Access
Push
Objective User Technology used Best for Information capture Passive Always active - continuing knowledge needs - Time-dependent information - Creating awareness of what information Advantage access can be pulled (notification) Brings important material to users attention of need Disadvantage Can overload users since they the part dont control it Allows user to information at point Requires time on of the user

Pull
Navigation Active Active only when - One-time needs - Conducting - Detailed

research

Get - Guidance
Ability
New organisational roles support information seekers

Challenges
Provide access to both centrally managed and self-published information Create framework and processes that promote knowledge re-use

Approaches
Convert Librarians into cybrarians Create a new role - the Knowledge Manager Use Experts as Information Filters

Get - Guidance
Role of a Knowledge Manager
- Answering on-line questions - Facilitating on-line discussions - Scouting out useful material - Networking within the community

Role of a Knowledge Manager

- Cataloguing content - Maintaining timeliness - Maintaining member profiles - Providing access and assistance to new users - Responding to member queries regarding location & availability of information

Get - Completeness
Ability The knowledge infrastructure is
comprehensive and well organised

Challenges
Provide access to both centrally managed and self published information Create frameworks and processes that promote knowledge reuse

Approaches
Centrally managed information- convergent systems Self-published information- divergent systems

Get - Completeness
Guidelines for creating frameworks
- Identify what information based on how do we work in the organisation - Avoid clutter : quality over quantity - Update regularly: Nothing drives users away faster than outdated information - Train the user: Cutting edge technology solutions are highly underutilized partly because of inertia and partly due to fear

Use - Imperatives
Abilities Permeability:
Ideas flow both in and out of the organisation, exposing people to many different perspectives and possibilities

Freedom:
People are generally comfortable and confident about acting on new ideas

Use - Permeability
Challenges
Change the organisational structure to improve communications and knowledge flows Design the physical environment to facilitate interaction Treat information as an open resource Avoid accessibility dysfunction in the form of top-down, cross-functional, bottom-up Collaborate continuously with the stake-holder communities

Use - Freedom
Challenges Value the contributions of everyone in the organisation
Absorb new ideas that fit the organisations strategic objectives

Create time and space for experimentation

Look for ways to boost creativity and innovation

Learn - Imperatives
Abilities Peoples capacity for learning is an infinitely abundant resource. Visibility
The link between strategy and the learning derived from everyday actions is obvious

Habituation
The practice of learning is common place. Individuals reflect on experience all the time and this is the essence of learning

Learning- Challenges
Visibility
Learning at the organisational level asks individuals to go beyond just accomplishing a task to asking questions about it. People learn all the time Leverage learning for the organisations benefit Strategy of the organisation is achieved through the learning that is derived from everyday decisions and actions

Learning- Challenges
Habituation
Promote the pleasure principle at work Embed reflection mechanisms into the habit of work Capture the benefits, failures and disagreement Nurture the art of learning by doing

Contribution - Imperatives
Abilities Motivation
Members want to contribute their knowledge

Facilitation
Systems and structures support the contribution process

Trust
The organisation promotes understanding of and respect for the value of contributed intellectual capital

Contribution-Challenges
Motivation
- Remove barriers to sharing - Link contribution to opportunity and advancement - Withhold benefits from non-contributors - Find points of mutual benefit

Facilitation
- Allow employees the time and space to contribute their best - Create dedicated roles that support the contribution process - Support transfer of tacit knowledge - Weave an organisational web

Contribution-Challenges
Trust - Support a contract of reciprocity - Create explicit policies on the use of intellectual assets - Use self-publishing to promote ownership

Strategic Processes
Assess
- Perspective - Integration

Build and Sustain

- Direction - Connection - Recognition - Reciprocity

Divest
- Forbearance - Conversion

Strategic Process Assess Imperatives

Perspective Integration

Assess-Perspective
Ability Expand the theory of organisation to capture the impact of knowledge on organisational performance Challenges - Identify new forms of organisational capital

Assess-Integration
Ability
Incorporate a new set of frameworks, processes and metrics into the overall management process

Challenges
- Visualise the underlying structures that guide KM practices - Experiment with metrics & valuation approaches to evaluate strategic outcomes

Types of Capital
Human capital The ability of individuals and groups to
apply solutions to customers needs.

Customer capital The strength of the customer

relationship.

Organisational capital

The capabilities of the organisation made up of codified knowledge from all sources (knowledge bases, business processes,technology infrastructure), the shared culture, values and norms.
The relationship among human, customer and organisational capital that maximises the organisations potential to create value which is ultimately

Intellectual capital

Intellectual Capital
To build and sustain knowledge through resource allocation decisions, organisations must grow and renew the forms of capital that jointly give rise to

intellectual capital.
Organisational capital is the intellectual capital that remains in the organisation when members leave.

The Intellectual Capital Model

Human capital Value

Organisational capital

Customer capital Knowledge Flows

Strategic Process Build and Sustain Imperatives

Direction Connection Recognition Reciprocity

Build and Sustain- Direction

Ability Resources are channeled in ways that replenish and create knowledge Challenges - Subordinate IT to people - Structure positions that focus organisational attention on knowledge-based assets

Build and Sustain- Connection

Ability The organisation forms relationships that further its knowledge Management objectives Challenges - Preach co-operation among internal divisions - Partner in new ways with other organisations - Retain the right people

Build and Sustain- Recognition

Ability The organisation sees how to extract the value embedded in knowledge Challenges - Use knowledge to strengthen the customer relationship - Disassemble the organisational whole to

Build and Sustain- Reciprocity

Ability
Policies, procedures and normssupport a relationship between the organisation and its members

Challenges
- Demonstrate that value creation is a values proposition - Make room for the entire person to show up for work every day

Strategic Process - Divest Imperatives

Forbearance Conversion

Divest - Forbearance
Ability
Unnecessary knowledge is not acquired in the first place

Challenges
- Discriminate between forms of knowledge that can be leveraged and those that are limited - Find alternatives to direct acquisition in order to experiment with knowledge

Divest - Conversion
Ability
Knowledge that is a drain on resources is converted into sources of value

Challenges
- Recognise and dispense with true resource drain - Avoid throwing out the baby with the bath water!