Date: 2, 9, 16Feb 2011 By: Adj Prof Soo

Aims of the module

Considers: Considers: the nature of knowledge and learning in both individual and organizational contexts; forms of organizational knowledge; how knowledge and organizational learning become structured around the architectures of an organizations products and processes; organizational learning processes through which knowledge can be created and used; incentive systems for stimulating organizational learning; the design of IT-supported knowledge management systems; IT issues and challenges in managing organizational learning.
Prof Ron Sanchez

Knowledge Management is about

Designing learning cycles into all organizational processes Systematically leveraging new and existing knowledge

Other Processes Our Processes

Converting personal knowledge into organizational knowledge, and vice versa

Prof Ron Sanchez

Knowledge Management Business Approach

You can't manage knowledge nobody can. What you can do is to manage the environment in which knowledge can be created, discovered, captured, shared, distilled, validated, transferred, adopted, adapted and applied.
Chris Collison & Geoff Parcell, Learning to Fly - Practical Knowledge Management from Leading & Learning Organizations (2005), Chper 2, pgs Parcell, 2424-25.

Drucker Drucker scoffs at the notion of knowledge management. 'You can't manage knowledge,' he says. 'Knowledge is between two ears, and only between two ears.' To that extent, Drucker says it's really about what individual workers do with the knowledge they have. When employees leave a company, he have. says, their knowledge goes with them, no matter how much they've shared.
The nonsense of 'knowledge management, T.D. Wilson, Prof Emeritus, U. of Sheffield, UK, visiting Prof, Hgskolan i Bors, Bors, Sweden

Knowledge Management Business Approach

Getting people to think about KM on their own terms is the trick. Steve Denning, the Worlds Bank former director of KM, says: Dont explain the theory of knowledge management thats deadly. In fact, it is better not to mention KM at all. Unilevers David Smith had to use his colleagues language. Its important to have a dialogue at the top of the organisation and to understand perceptions of the subject without using the words knowledge management. Instead, you ask how good we are at innovation or at learning from mistakes.
How to manage your Knowledge Manager, nathaniel Foote, Eric Matson and Nicholas Rudd, BOSS, Nov 2002

Knowledge Management Business Approach

KM is such a preposterous, pretentious & profoundly oxymoronic phrase that many of those who really understand KM prefer terms such as knowledgeknowledge-sharing, information systems, organizational learning, intellectual asset management, performance enhancement or gardening. is the practice of harnessing & exploiting intellectual capital to gain competitive advantage & customer commitment through efficiency, innovation & faster & more effective decision-making." decision It means nothing if you don't take knowledge & turn it into customer value. is really just a way of looking at the world of biz. It's a realization that who & what you know are assets of the organization... to be managed for the greatest possible return on investment.
Adapted from: Defining Knowledge Management, Steve Barth, Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Knowledge Management Business Approach

KM is the intangible soft-skill of the knowledge economy that leads to hard, tangible results such as shorter product lead cycles, lower development costs, and cost & quality gains in manufacturing. However creating & managing organizational knowledge in China's sociocultural environment presents some peculiar issues and challenges. consumers demand new products with additional features every six months or less, effective KM is key to reducing the new product development cycle time. It is also a basic requirement to compete. In other industries, the goal of KM is to move along the "experience curve' as quickly as possible, realizing cost & quality gains as the organization learns from its collective successes & failures. KM encompasses aspects of business including strategy, operations practices and corporate culture.
Adapted from: Knowledge Advantage, Sridhar Vedala and Nick Rossiter, Enterprise China, 2004

Knowledge Management Business Approach

To achieve higher levels of competitive advantage, customer commitment, customer value, innovation & faster & more effective decision-making decision-

What Knowledge is critical to an organisation?

What must a business have in its Knowledge Bank? What do you do with it?

Knowledge Management Business Approach

Sun Zis Art of War - Be Prepared and be Invincible:
Therefore, study by calculations and compare the situation in the field according to 5 FACTORS: 1. The Way (Dao) or Moral Principle stakeholders in harmony with the Leader. 2. The Weather capitalise on the knowledge of cycles of changes in markets, economics, industries, technologies, demographics, socio-politics, etc. 3. The Terrain use the knowledge of variations in market segments, places, positioning, etc. 4. The Commander wise, skilled, mgt style to capitalise on the above. 5. Law & Doctrine/System Org structure, Culture, Processes, Reward system, Training/Skills of people, cost mgt, etc.
1:1-3

Be Prepared The Weather

Weather refers to the climatic variations such as the circadian cycle (dark-light or Yin-Yang) & seasonal temperature fluctuation (cold-hot or winter-summer) and their time control factor.
1:7

changes in govts, international Political orgs policies & incentives, etc shift in dominant age groups, race, religion, etc. climatic & weather changes, conservation, pollution, etc. Demographics Economics biz & industry cycles, sentiments, conomics new FTAs, barriers, cartels, etc shifts in cultural/social norm, food trends, health trends, etc

Environment

Socio-cultural ocio-

changes in norms, Ethical selfself-regulation, etc. Legal

Technical

changes & rate of adaptation, etc.

regulatory changes, unwritten rules, enforcement, etc.

Be Prepared Weather
More than 30 years ago, the government announced a system to move school drop-outs from PSLE to technical schools like ITE. What does dropthat mean? Based on statistics this means most of the 11% (average) school cohort that usually form the production workers applications will disappear. This means soon Singapore will be grossly short of production workers! Decision: Automate

11

Be Prepared Weather

Governments goal: Economic Re-structuring. ReSingapore is to be a Global City. What does this mean?

Be Prepared Weather
Economic Re-structuring ReHigher Value Add Biz Demographic Shift: Transient rich pop- IRs popDemographic Shift: foreign prof. talents

Demographics Shift
Yuppies Culture Aging population
Special Clubs: for seniors, seniors, Old Boys NW

Emerging Pattern: Luxury Buying, Premium Housing, Premium eating, Inflation, higher property prices, etc. etc.

Shift to Global City

Eat Healthy: Organic, lean & white meats, vegetables, fruits, pill popping, etc

Aged Friendly: Prepared Food designed for the aged

Pkg Meals

Branding: Critical for premium Hip, hype, etc.

Changing Loyalty Patterns: Yuppie club, Sp. Concierge svcs, e.g. svcs, Treasures, Platinum Clubs, etc.

Special Need Patterns: Sp. Concierge services, health focus, Blog gossips, etc.

Will Real Estate Prices continue to go up?

Target population: 5 m up from 3.5 m in about 4 years. Rich foreigners who accounts to about 70% of the buyers in the private property market An Indonesian PR paid a record high $653,000 for a resale HDB flat in Queenstown Queenstown Developers sold 14,688 units in 2009 close to the all-time high of 14,811 in all2007 Consultants generally predict 8 to 15% increase this year for URA's overall private home price index, with greater upside for high-end homes. highAnalysts bullish after URA data shows hike in Q4 prices and dip in vacancies, Kalpana Rashiwala, ExpatSingapore website Rashiwala,

Be Prepared Weather
Emerging buying pattern: changing taste for eggs Net Income grew ~ 5X: from $36.7m to $151.9m in one year although: Cost of chicken feed skyrocketed Less consumers eat eggs due to health reasons But Cal-Maine saw the battle ground was about to shift CalCalCal-Maine began buying smaller egg producers that were in trouble, focusing particularly on companies that produced reducedreducedcholesterol, cage-free, organic eggs, and even eggs laid by vegetarian cagehens allows the company to sell at far higher prices.
A Chicken Farm Gobbles Competition - How You Can Too, Kaihan Krippendorff, Fastcompany, Mon Oct 6, 2008 Krippendorff, Fastcompany,

Be Prepared The Weather

In business there are many cycles, each with its own drum beat and timing. We need to understand their impact and plan for them:
Economic Cycle - Boom & Bust Business Cycle the S-Curve SInnovation/Adoption Life Cycle Product Life Cycle Market Life Cycle shift in economies Demographic Life Cycle etc
Economic Cycle
Boom Contraction

Recession

Expansion

Market Size

Market Size

S-Curve

Innovation Life Curve

Market Size

Successive S-Curve Time

Time

Time

Be Prepared The Weather

Explicit Knowledge is useless if it is stored in books, computer memory, transformed. human memory (etc) and not transformed. (etc) Business cycles (etc) are known to business leaders but not all use them why? Based on historical trend, most of the top 10 companies of the world today will not make the list in 2020 years time why?

Because it is one thing to have the knowledge and it is another to do something with it!

17

Be Prepared The Weather

Hirose's Prodt Devt : Our Sales Div & Engg Div come together in searching for global connector trends to create innovative products sequentially. Abandon & Ambush: We generate precedence profit with new products before competitors enter into the market, & abandon them that are already de facto std & dig a new theme to be developed almost 30% of our product line-up is occupied by new products lineThey see the imminent changes in customers needs and created the WANT for them and bring about the change!

Successive S-Curve

De facto Industry Std De facto Industry Std De facto Industry Std Time

Market Size

Be Prepared The Weather

Musashi: seize initiative & lead the opponent. Yamaha: "World's Largest Motorcycle Manufacturer" Honda: > 18-months introduced 113 new models to Yamaha's 37. Yamaha's margin & market share dropped rapidly. Strategically: Honda had made NEWNESS an object of customers desire or WANT to be an end in itself. Yamaha believe Honda was wrong as their cost of mfg would be higher.

Why companies dont interpret market, economic and social information and develop strategies the same way?

Be Prepared Weather
Explicit Knowledge Govt Policies, Market, Industry, Social Trends, (etc) Tacit Knowledge of how to interpret & develop solutions to issues
Experienced & Inexperienced CrossCrossFunctional managers working as a team alone or facilitated by a consultant.

+ +

New Knowledge
Explicit/Tacit? Explicit/Tacit? New insights/ideas

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.
John Locke, Of the Conduct of the Understanding (1706)

How the brain thinks, decides & recognises - influences our perception & formulates what we call New Knowledge.

How do we Think?
Neuroscientists: The new model of the brain is intelligent memory, in which analysis and intuition work together in the mind in all modes of thoughtThere is only learning and recall, in various combinations, throughout the entire brain As new info comes in, your brain does a search to see how it might fit with other info already stored in your memory. When it finds a match, the previous memories come off the shelf and combine with the new, and the result is a thought. The breaking down and storing process is analysis. The searching analysis. and combining is intuition. intuition. When lots of different pieces combine into a new pattern, you feel it as a flash of insight, the famous aha! moment. moment.
Adapted from: How Aha! Really Happens, William Duggan

Knowledge Creation - Polanyis Concept

We recognize a face by integrating its particulars impressed upon our brain into a comprehensive entity. Integration occurs as we shift our attention from the parts to the whole. The whole is not simply a sum of the parts because the parts take on a different meaning in the whole. This integration is tacit knowing.
Adapted from: Polanyis Concept of Tacit Knowing, Nina Abraham Palmer, Harvard

Singapore Govts Interest Western Hardening targets Explicit Knowledge Integration (Tacit Knowing) E. Asias growing concerns Defence Shows decreasing

Terrorism

Pattern recognition: Face

Conference Growing

Trend/Change Recognition

Knowledge Creation - Gestalt psychology

Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization Have you ever noticed how a series of flashing lights often appears to be moving this apparent movement happens because our minds fill in missing information.
What is Gestalt Psychology? Kendra Van Wagner

Gestalt psychology is based on the observation that we often experience things that are not a part of our simple sensations you are seeing an effect of the whole event, not contained in the sum of the parts parts
Gestalt Psychology, Dr. C. George Boeree

It depends on what is stored and how the brain searches and links them. Sometimes it fools you! It is how we THINK.

Knowledge Creation Polanyi & Gestalt

In Polanyis model, personal knowing is the capacity to do something model, experience. that has been learned in the course of experience. Evidence of our capacity to know takes the form of Gestalt integrations that pop into consciousness instantly and inexplicably Irrespective of whether tacit knowing involves a physical skill or a cognitive performance, we learn in the course of doing things: learning things: involves dwelling in the details of a particular activity.
Rethinking Polanyis Concept of Tacit Knowledge: From Personal Knowing to Imagined Institutions, Tim Ray, 5 March 2009, @ Springer Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Question is how had we been training our brains to THINK?

How do we Think?
Western Analytic - objects & people are separated from their environment, categorized & reasoned about using logical rules.1 Convergent, Linear2 - Quick & Deterministic Strategy Eastern Holistic Orientation perceiving & thinking about objects in relation to their environments & reasoning Dialectically.1 Divergent, Non-Linear, Dialectic2 Non- Takes Time & WIP Strategy

Simplistic & Linear Not Adaptive Left Brain

Holistic & Changing Adaptive Right Brain

1. The Geography of Thought, Richard Nisbett, U of Michigan 2. East Vs West: One Sees Big Picture, Other Is Focused, Sharon Begley, SCIENCE JOURNAL, March 28, 2003

How do we Think?
Right Brain Holistic, Creative, Non-Linear Divergent DIALECTIC Daniel Goleman, when comparing star performers in senior leadership Goleman, positions, indicates that nearly 90% of the difference was attributable to emotional intelligence rather than cognitive abilities. abilities. Albert Einstein once said, I never discovered anything with my rational mind.
The Art of Global Thinking: East, West: Conflicting or Complementary? Donald Cyr, Pacific Region Forum on Biz & Mgt Comm, Feb 26, 2003

Left Brain Analytical, Logical & Linear Convergent

Dialectic Thinking
1. Dialectic denies usefulness of logic, e.g. analytical Static Structure of A = A, A doesnt exist by itself and things change continuously and its meaning depends on the context and environment. 2. Dialectic opposites are NOT mutually exclusive but can exist in harmony. 3. Dialectic Thinking: looks for contradictions within people/situations as the guide to what is going on and what is likely to happen. 3 main propositions: a. interdependence of opposites light & darkness, b. interpenetration of opposites love & hate, c. unity of opposites absolute light/darkness & blindness; any value we have, if held to the extreme will include the opposite

A good symbol for these 3 processes is the Yin-Yang symbol

#3 seeks to understand the whole so as to understand the parts.

Adapted from: Dialectical Thinking, John Rowan

How do we Think? - Dialectic Thinking

28

Be Prepared & Be Knowledgeable in:

Therefore, study by calculations and compare the situation in the field according to 5 FACTORS: 1. The Way (Dao) or Moral Principle - org believes in the Leaders vision, goals, strategies, benevolence; harmony among the stakeholders. 2. The Weather able to capitalise on the knowledge of cycles of changes in economics (local & global), industries, market influences, demographics, socio-politics, etc. 3. The Terrain able to use the knowledge of variations in market segments, places, positioning, etc, to compete & win? 4. The Commander wise, skilled, an mgt style to capitalise on the above. 5. Law & Doctrine/System Org structure, Culture, Processes, Reward system, Training/Skills of people, cost mgt, etc.

1:1-3

Knowledge of the Terrain

Based on the characteristics of the Space you can estimate the Threats of doing biz and the Opportunities you can seize. Business Terrain may relate to a physical location OR cyberspace. Characteristics of the Terrain in biz terms: Financial Labour Technology - funding availability, currency exchangeability, etc. - availability, educated, trained & associated cost. - materials, process, equipt, tech. availability, R&D, etc. Supply Chain - materials, logistic services, reliability, etc.

Infrastructure - telecoms, transportation sys, utilities, water, etc. Market - potential needs, virgin land, size, changes, trends, etc. Cyber Market - level of penetration and use for local and global reach. Competition - strengths & weaknesses due to market condition & situation. Social Etc.
30

- culture, social norms, religions, etc.

Knowledge of the Terrain

The availability of Market knowledge (Explicit Knowledge) depends on: 1. Country or regional market research. 2. Industry research is easier with matured industries like computer, power, etc; knowledge of distribution in Cyberspace is more tricky, or even less known industries like cruise. 3. Region-industry research should use knowledge of companies Regionalready there in country and/or industry. Use government agencies knowledge bank.

Terrain Think Global Act Local

WalWal-Mart while venturing out globally followed the cookie-cutter cookieapproach, adopting its highly successful home-grown business homemodel into its new markets Wal-Mart either failed or struggled WalWith the global retail market severely competitive Retailers are forced to evolve a model that is glocalised glocalised
WalWal-Marts Think Global, Act Local Can Americanisation Have its Way?, Ananthi R & Doris Rajakumari John, IBS Case Development Americanisation Centre, 2008

Terrain Think Global Act Local

So Playdom, the company behind Market Street, hired Mentez, a start up based in Miami, to come up with a Valentines Day alternative for the Brazilian adaptation of the game, known as Paraiso das Compras Internationalizing a game requires knowledge of country-specific traditions, architecture, holidays, and currencies Overseas players buy up to five times the number of localized products as they do non-customised ones
Getting Social Media Games to Play Overseas, Douglas MacMillan, Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb28-Mar6, 2001

Terrain Think Global Act Local

Petra's brands covers >50% Indonesias chocolate retail market. Distribution network covers 60% of the potential retailers. By blanketing the lower end of the market with such variety, Chuang has fended off challenges from rivals, even as Indonesia opened its chocolate market. "We don't compete against Cadbury and the others. They are good but expensive," he says. Cadbury - set up a chocolate mfg plant but eventually pulled out, reportedly unable to get adequate distribution. distribution.
Adapted from Chocolate Craving, Justin Doebele, Forbes Asia, 09.04.06 Doebele,

Market Knowledge is Explicit Knowledge but it is Tacit Knowledge that helps transforms it into Creative New Knowledge to win in the market place.

Terrain of Smartphones
A YouGov report - found distinctive differences between smartphone users. iPhone users are on average better paid than Android users: 56% earning 20K and above, vs just 39% of Android users. 10% of RIM: 50K or more vs 7% of iPhone users and 5% of Android users; 23% saying they didn't use apps at all. use smartphones most heavily, with 18% reporting that they spent 4 hrs or more each day, compared with 4% of Android & BlackBerry users. spend the most time using apps for social networking and gaming most happy-go-lucky happy-goLost in the big city? Look for an Android user mapping & planning travel. Women are more social. Some 53% of female smartphone users said the apps they use most are for social networking, compared with 45% of men.
Adapted from; Smartphones: What your device says about you, Shelley Portet, 7 April 2011, Silicon.com Smartphones: Portet,

Be Prepared Terrain
Explicit Knowledge Market, Industry, Social Research (etc) Tacit Knowledge of how to interpret & develop solutions to issues
Involve experienced & inexperienced mgrs - Captured in analysis and design of survey

+ New Knowledge +
Explicit/Tacit? Explicit/Tacit?
New insights/ideas

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.
John Locke, Of the Conduct of the Understanding (1706)

How the brain thinks, decides & recognises - influences our perception & formulates what we call New Knowledge.

36

Knowledge Creation Tacit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge underlies most competitive capabilities. It plays a crucial role in developing new products and services. Today's knowledge driven economy requires special attention to this unarticulated layer of knowledge that shapes the decision-making process [Tacit Knowledge] is hatched of experience, is often nonverbal, and is even subconscious in nature. Failure to recognize and use this intellectual asset squanders corporate advantage.
Tapping tacit knowledge an art form, Skeris, Peter, InTech, December 1, 1999

Tacit Knowledge resides in our sub-conscious mind and is subbasically gained from learning especially by doing things University of Hard Knocks

Knowledge - Tacit
It is difficult to discern and difficult to express... enables people to have gut feelings that something is wrong or missing. It is knowing how to ride a bike, how to recognise the smell of coffee, how to develop lasting client relationships, when to buy and sell, and which new venture is likely to work. It is not book knowledge; rather, it is knowledge developed through experience. experience.
Want to Manage Tacit Knowledge?, Shawn Callahan, director of Anecdote Pty Ltd former KM practice leader for IBM Australia

Hence, it is possible that: tacit knowledge can fail miserably at times, because it tries to mask itself as being rational or logical.
Tacit Knowledge in Professional Practice, by Robert J. Sternberg, Joseph A. Horvath - 1999

Remember Polanyis Concept - it reminds me of and then a mistake is made in extrapolating.

Knowledge of the Terrain

Negative Example: Example: we had to make a quick decision concerning the acquisition of an electroplating company. We didnt have the time to do an adequate financial and market analysis. We did know that the business was making a lot of profit and had been growing for the past few years. Our intuition led us to believe that the business will continue to grow and make money in the future. The business turned out to be a failure.
Tacit Knowledge in Professional Practice, by Robert J. Sternberg, Joseph A. Horvath - 1999

Knowledge - Tacit
First, First, it can confuse correlation with causation. Much of our tacit knowledge is acquired by associating one object to another. This associative process is very powerful, but can be misleading Second, Second, intuition often makes the mistake of extrapolating from past performance. Only if we can understand the mechanism [e.g. cycling] by which the cycling] given points were generated can we safely extrapolate beyond them
Tacit Knowledge in Professional Practice, by Robert J. Sternberg, Joseph A. Horvath - 1999

Understanding the Mechanism or Principle is critical. E.g. correlating Chinas market with Singapores because we are mainly Chinese is risky but the Terrain is different. different.

Knowledge Tacit + Explicit

In practice, the distinction between tacit knowledge & explicit knowledge gets a little fuzzy. And the broad usefulness of tacit knowledge (relative to explicit knowledge) tends to decrease when the members of the organization are engaged in a wide variety of continuously changing, informationinformationintensive tasks a common characteristic of modern organizations, especially in high-technology markets. highWhat is Knowledge ... and How Can You Manage it? The Knowledge Management Connection

Agree? Agree? Industry or Terrain/Market specific?

Knowledge Tacit + Explicit

Check & Balance in decision making and creating new knowledge in KM: Explicit Knowledge > Logical Analysis of Market Info = Analytical Conclusion Tacit Knowledge > Intuitive Thinking = Feeling
This is where Dialectic Thinking can play an important role. Diversity of Thinkers is critical.

Match ?

Decision

Review
Adopted from: Robert J. Sternberg & Joseph A. Horvath, Tacit Knowledge in Professional Practice

Faith and doubt both are needed, not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.
Lillian SMITH (1887 1966) 1966)

Be Prepared & Be Knowledgeable in:

Therefore, study by calculations and compare the situation in the field according to 5 FACTORS: 1. The Way (Dao) or Moral Principle - org believes in the Leaders vision, goals, strategies, benevolence; harmony among the stakeholders. 2. The Weather able to capitalise on the knowledge of cycles of changes in economics (local & global), industries, market influences, demographics, socio-politics, etc. 3. The Terrain able to use the knowledge of variations in market segments, places, positioning, etc, to compete & win? 4. The Commander wise, skilled, an mgt style to capitalise on the above. 5. Law & Doctrine/System Org structure, Culture, Processes, Reward system, Training/Skills of people, cost mgt, etc.

This is where Tacit and Explicit Knowledge inter-play to create new knowledge.
1:1-3

Be Prepared - Knowledge of Law/Doctrine/Sys

Law & Doctrine/Sys refers to the guidelines, administrative systems & processes, orgn/structure & control, & how resources are managed and controlled. 1:10
Commanding a large or small force the principle is the same; it is a matter of division & orgn of forces. Fighting with a large or small force is similar, it is a matter of troop formation & communications through the use of flags. 5:1,2

When united as one, the brave will not move forward by themselves nor will the cowards retreat by themselves. 7:24 - 25

This is where strategies and policies (Tacit Knowledge) are translated into implementable processes and systems (Explicit Knowledge).

Law/Doctrine/System
Strategy
Cash to Cash Cycle Explicit Knowledge of the organisation $ Value Delivery System
Roles & Responsibilities

o o

Customer

Quality Management System

..

..

Law/Doctrine/System
The deployment of Strategies (Mental Map) into implementation/actions by the various levels requires the transformation of Tacit Knowledge into Explicit Knowledge that can be coded and transmitted as Plans. Plans are then transformed with Tacit Knowledge into Explicit Plans for the next level and so on down the hierarchy.
E.g. Make Competition Irrelevant: Monopolise Customers Orders Understands how customers decision making process

STRATEGY

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

Dev Seamless Order sys for customers

Educate Customers On advantages of VMI

Law/Doctrine/System
But while the appropriate infrastructure can enhance an organization's ability to create and exploit knowledge, it does not insure that the organization is making the best investment of its resources or that it is managing the right knowledge in the right way. My research with more than 25 firms has found that the most important context for guiding KM is the firm's strategy the link between KM and business strategy, while often talked about, has been widely ignored in practice.
Adapted from: Developing a Knowledge Strategy, Michael H. Zack, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University

Law/Doctrine/System
manager as researcher and designer learning to see organisations as systems, understanding the internal and external forces driving change, and designing the learning processes for others to understand them also. They should also research into systemic structure underlying business issues and then develop microworlds and learning processes
Senge P., Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B, Kleiner A, (1994), The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook N.Y. Doubleday Currency

Any organisation is a system requiring continuous holistic creation of new knowledge using divergent tacit thinking yet converging into explicit knowledge for implementation HOW?

Law/Doctrine/System
Tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge are not totally separate but mutually complementary entities. Without experience, we cannot truly understand. But unless we try to convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, we cannot reflect upon & share it organizationally intellectual infrastructure of an orgn encourages its individual members to develop new knowledge through new experiences.
Knowledge Has to Do with Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, Conversation with Professor Ikujiro Nonaka, Tokyo, 23Feb96, Claus Otto Scharmer

Law/Doctrine/System
Example: Systems of Reviews & Operations - Transferring & Creating Knowledge.
Externalisation (Tacit-Explicit) X-Fn Projects Successes & Failures Analyse, Generate ideas from learnings Root Cause Analysis & Discussion Combination (Explicit-Explicit)
Explicit Knowledge

Internalisation (Explicit-Tacit) Operations

In-corporate Tech Specs & Process into X-Functional Process, Project Mgt Process, Input into Contracts, Modify Training & Training, etc.

New Knowledge Future Capability

Corrective & Preventive Action Requests (CPAR)

R R A P C DR R

Socialization (Tacit-Tacit) Regular Reviews & Discussion Forums include in-depth discussions on the principles & concepts of decision making even between individuals are encouraged; innovation culture encourages individual willingness to share

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

[Organisations] protect their knowledge resources by recruiting and developing intelligent, loyal and committed employees and support them with a culture of learning, commitment and collaboration. explicit knowledge may diffuse out of the firm, the richer tacit knowledge providing the firm its sustainable knowledge-advantage still remains within the firm advantage comes from being able to absorb external knowledge and integrate it with their internal knowledge to develop new insights faster than the competition. Knowledge is the fundamental basis of competition.
Developing a Knowledge Strategy, Michael H. Zack, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Tacit Knowledge is best transferred through: 1. Mentoring by self reading, observation & practicing HIGHLY RECOMMENDED employees own his/her own development. 2. Communicating situations/challenges best visually & verbally. 3. Story Telling a favourite past time of leaders. 4. Coaching by strong people leaders/consultants experiential Action Learning with some form of mentoring. 5. Mentoring by leaders deliberate effort by orgns, e.g. lead Task Forces, Projects, etc. 6. Education/Training in theory & processes workshops conducted by management and specialist consultants. 7. Case Records with commentaries made available on-line 8. Systems and processes that facilitates direct & indirect sharing of Tacit Knowledge to capture and transform into Explicit Knowledge Spiral of Organizational Knowledge Creation, e.g. Community of Practice.
Structure Self Managers

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Good Mgt incl KM - K Creation/Teamwork & Education/Training

Value to Organisation

Good Mgt incl KM - K Creation /Teamwork & Training

Good Mgt & Teamwork & Training, no KM Cost of C&B

Poor Mgt but Self Motivated Individual

Value to Orgn. Original Cost Poor Management Time

Recruitment Error

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Protecting & using Tacit Knowledge through communities of practice Combine diverse Tacit Knowledge to formulate a New Analysis Model (Explicit Knowledge):

Expert Tacit Knowledge Expert Tacit Knowledge Expert Tacit Knowledge

Community Of Practice

Self-Regulation

Explicit Knowledge

Expert Tacit Knowledge

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Protecting & using Tacit Knowledge through communities of practice First, these groups enrich the context around their area of interest. They enhance the artifacts (such as documents & tools) that already exist; and they create new artifacts enhanced meaning for the group and, as they do, more knowledge becomes unspokenmore tacit knowledge is unspoken created. Secondly, the increasing interaction among members of the group, together with the enriched context described above, enables members to respond quickly to unusual & unpredictable requests. This is because the community of practice has been in the habit of posing (& exploring) novel questions. Thirdly, a deeper & wider pool of expertise from which to draw... not locked up in one individual.
Want to manage tacit knowledge? Communities of practice offer a versatile solution, Shawn Callahan

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Fourthly, members of the community develop an intuitive understanding of how to tackle issues in their field of expertise. They develop this intuitive knowledge by undertaking tasks, reflecting, asking questions of one another, and listening to the stories of other community members. Finally, and most importantly, new members of the community are effectively given permission to associate with the more experienced and more senior members of the organisation. This is what it means to be part organisation. of a community.
Want to manage tacit knowledge? Communities of practice offer a versatile solution, Shawn Callaha

This is a good formal or Informal System of Knowledge Management. However, need to avoid Group Think, e.g. danger in Benchmarking how others do it in similar Market situations.

Law/Doctrine/Sys Protecting Tacit Knowledge

Example: Managing Terrain/Market knowledge in an industry cluster: Circuit City and Toys 'R' Us focus their retailing knowledge on one product category at the expense of others. In comparison, many broad-line retailers, led by Wal-Mart realize that broadWalwhile they know some things about retailing tens of thousands of products to the consumer market, their suppliers are able to develop a more focused understanding The retailer is, in fact, operating as a knowledge integrator, integrating the knowledge of many suppliers to better serve consumers.
Developing a Knowledge Strategy, Michael H. Zack, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University

Law/Doctrine/System
Risk of Group Think in KM must be managed by systems Thats the way we do things around here. This phrase (and others like it) typically refers to the complex, subtle practices that become ingrained in an organizations culture, culture, to the point where they become part of its identity. Habitual thoughts and behaviors are not bad in themselves But when circumstances shift or the company becomes dysfunctional, those habits may need substantive change.
Thats the Way We (Used to) Do Things Around Here, Jeffrey Schwartz, Pablo Gaito, and Doug Lennick, S+B, 22Feb11

But why experienced managers get trapped in Group Think? Because it feels good!

Law/Doctrine/System
The basal ganglias processing, in particular, is so rapid compared to other brain activity that it can feel physically rewarding every time the neuronal patterns in the basal ganglia are invoked, they become further entrenched; they forge connections with one another and with other functionally related brain areas, and these neural links (sometimes called action repertoires) become stronger and more compelling. compelling. This helps explain why when people in a workplace talk about the way to do things, they often reinforce the link between their own neural patterns and the culture of the company. If an organizational practice triggers their basal ganglia, it can become collectively ingrained and extremely difficult to dislodge.
Thats the Way We (Used to) Do Things Around Here, Jeffrey Schwartz, Pablo Gaito, and Doug Lennick, S+B, 22Feb11

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Law/Doctrine/System
At work, being forced to try something new can trigger fear and anger (sometimes called the amygdala hijack), the urge to flee In the grip amygdala hijack), of such emotions, people resist change. Their capacity for rational and creative thinking is also diminished; they revert to their rote behaviors, behaviors, such as arguing, passive-aggressive compliance, or covert resistance. passiveTo overcome this reversion train to recognize the source of a strong emotion even as it is triggered, and to find more effective ways of responding. Working in any corporation may lead people to adopt repetitive patterns of behavior. behavior. But the neural connections remain plastic. Once people know how to bring the impartial spectator into play, they can recognize when their old habituated neural patterns no longer serve them (or their company) well, and reshape those patterns in new directions.
Adapted from: Thats the Way We (Used to) Do Things Around Here, Jeffrey Schwartz, Pablo Gaito, and Doug Lennick, S+B, 22Feb11

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Law/Doctrine/System
Learning systems can help minimise Group Think by using external educators. But most education systems are inadequate, why? The first mistake is to direct learning initiatives toward training individuals & building job skills, rather than toward developing team & organisational capabilities. Another common mistake is positioning learning as a stand-alone The cure is closer integration with the biz ensure alignment with strategic objectives Employees are held accountable for learning Some companies also establish corporate universities as hubs for executive and employee education, centers of excellence, vehicles for building relationships with suppliers & key customers
Adapted from: A Talent for Talent, Richard Rawlinson, Walter McFarland, and Laird Post

Be Prepared - Know Yourself & Others

Therefore it is said: If you know the others & yourself, you will not be in jeopardy in a 100 battles. dont know the others but knows yourself, you will have an equal chance of a victory or defeat. dont know the others & dont know yourself, you will be in jeopardy in every battle.
3:18

Others

Enemy

Yourself

Others

Know Others: Buyers

Integrative Thinking: We tested it [Febreze] on a small scale with Japanese consumers. They rejected it [but] 20% of the first survey group absolutely loved the product. Japanese people can be hypersensitive to malodors They changed the fragrance from high profile to a very low profile scent the bottle to a much more delicate design that more Japanese people felt comfortable having visible in their homes. They changed the spray pattern to a mist it became a phenomenal success in Japan. It involved people in a variety of functions and at least 2 regions it came to fruition because we were skilled at having the kinds of processes and conversations that would lead people to synthesize their ideas.
Adapted from; P&Gs Innovation Culture, A.G. Lafley, with an introduction by Ram Charan

What knowledge is at play? Explicit Knowledge or Tacit Knowledge?

Know Others: Buyers

Unveiling the HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam notebook on the catwalk of Tams 2008 fashion show at New Yorks Fashion Week The launch of the HP Tech Chic 2010 programme marries fashion and technology connect meaningfully with women across Asia Pacific, says Dennis Mark
A women's worth, Deepa Balji Jegarajah, Marketing-interactive.com, Aug 19, 2011 Jegarajah, Marketing-

What knowledge is at play? Explicit Knowledge or Tacit Knowledge?

Know Others: Alliance/partners

[Zander & Jobs] announced a joint venture to cooperate in combining cellular telephony with devices that could easily bring music to the masses [Zander] happily gave him all the access he wanted to the best and brightest of Motorola's radio frequency engineers. What he thought he was getting in return is less clear. Not surprisingly, after Mr. Jobs had gotten what he needed, the Motorola deal went nowhere.
Joan Lappin, Gramercy Capital, 01.16.09

What knowledge is at play? Explicit Knowledge or Tacit Knowledge?

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Knowledge Management Effects of Culture

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Knowledge Management Effects of Culture

One of the major barriers to knowledge sharing is cultural differences. This problem is even more prominent in global virtual collaboration settings since the team members may come from different departments, organizations and/or different countries. Thus, different levels of culture may shape members knowledge sharing behavior, but little research has explored the effect of cultural differences on knowledge sharing activities in virtual collaboration .
The Impact of National Culture on Knowledge Sharing Activities in Global Virtual Collaboration: the Chinese Case, Kangning Wei, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

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Knowledge Management effects of Culture

KM initiatives are closely linked to the social & cultural aspects of a region. This is especially relevant in China history has shown, there may be grave consequences for embarking on operations in China without a proper understanding of the business implications of these cultural factors. The keys to successful implementation of KM initiatives depend on understanding the cultural norms impacting KM, achieving integration and synergy with global KM, and implementing knowledge sharing with customers. Tacit knowledge is transmitted through personal, often social, exchanges between staff members. Thus the underlying communication protocols, which are inextricably linked to the culture, greatly impact knowledge management initiatives.
Adapted from: Knowledge Advantage, Sridhar Vedala and Nick Rossiter, Enterprise China, 2004

Knowledge Management effects of Culture

The traditional Chinese culture has been described as being grouporientated to some extent. The key characteristic of any group is trust and so at least knowledge has the potential to flow freely within such groups However frustrating such efforts are the lack of Trust within Chinese society generally, and the focus on individual attainment that characterizes modern China's rush for economic gains. Corporate cultures within China are actually very political, and front-line employees often respond by being cordial to all, but only actually taking actions that will assist their ascent within these politically-charged structures not fertile ground for KM initiatives to take root.
Knowledge Advantage, Sridhar Vedala and Nick Rossiter, Enterprise China, 2004

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Knowledge Management effects of Culture

Guanxi - extends beyond business to political, social and other aspects of life, and in addition to its role in facilitating all manner of business & political exchanges, it also serves as an instrument for acquisition and dissemination of high-value information. Hierarchy - Seniority & position become the key criteria for knowledge flow, meaning that knowledge flow is usually top-down This obstructs communication flow between senior and junior staff in the organization, and scuttles any initiatives from junior staff. Given the dynamism of the Chinese economy and the spectacular surge in fortunes of China's nouveau riche, many tend to concentrate on shortterm goals anathema to KM, which fundamentally requires a longerterm perspective towards creating, managing and leveraging knowledge as a source of competitive advantage.
Knowledge Advantage, Sridhar Vedala and Nick Rossiter, Enterprise China, 2004

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Knowledge Management effects of Culture

The Chinese value learning and knowledge. This is reflected in almost every area: from the academic arena, where students value intelligence and competitiveness, to the management arena where people may be open to new management practices and concepts if taught properly. The key to deploying KM programs across the orgn will depend on: Having a clear strategy for integrating the China business unit's operations into global knowledge creation & transmission processes. Understanding of cultural norms that may facilitate/hinder KM in China. Having a strategy for extending the KM gains across the entire supply chain. By fully understanding the macro issues and key success factors that impact KM outcomes in China, the implementation of specific KM tools or initiatives will be a lot less problematic.
Adapted from; Knowledge Advantage, Sridhar Vedala and Nick Rossiter, Enterprise China, 2004