Building a Knowledge Sharing Company - Essay Example

BUILDING A KNOWLEDGE SHARING COMPANY The current business scenario may be characterized by a shift from a world of predictable, incremental, and linear change to that of radical and discontinuous change, which seems to have global implications. Therefore, most organizations would need to gear up for encountering this new world of business that would increasingly demand non-linear strategies for sustaining organizational competence. Increasingly, the important question will not be about `doing things right, but about doing `the right things. As the traditional paradigms of concepts such as organizations, industry, and product / service definitions become increasingly blurred, one would see new models of business that defy traditional boundaries of organization structure, industry structure and product / service definitions. There will be increasing realization that sustainable organizational competence depends upon the organizations capacity for creating new knowledge through an ongoing and continuous process of learning and unlearning. “The most valuable assets of the twenty-first century company are its knowledge and knowledge workers”. Peter Drucker "In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of lasting advantage is knowledge." Ikujiro Nonaka First, KM is increasingly important because of the shift from a predictable world paradigm to one governed by discontinuous change. Second, it is essential for organizational survival in the long run, given that knowledge creation is the core competence of any organization. This knowledge may relate -- among other issues -- to new products or services, to new product / service definitions, to new organization / industry definitions, or to new channels of distributions. Third, it is not a separate function characterized by a separate KM department or a KM process, but is embedded into all organizations business processes. Fourth, latest advances of information technology can facilitate the processes such as channeling, gathering, or dissemination of information, however, the final burden is on the humans to translate this information into actionable knowledge depending on an acute understanding of their business context. Having the best-of-breed technologies doesnt necessarily ensure creativity and innovation that is necessary for organizational competence. Effective utilization of technology is necessary -- synchronized with effective utilization of the creative and innovative capacity of the human components. In this view, KM is not limited to collecting information from various domain experts and creating databases supported by organizational intranets. Nor is it defined in terms of determining the individual knowledge needs of every employee and then trying to parcel out quotas of knowledge that are considered relevant to each employees needs. Various labels such as knowledge capital, knowledge assets, intangible assets, intellectual capital, and so on refer the organizational wealth of knowledge. However, in the western world, despite the recent boom in outsourcing and downsizing activities, we are observing that organizations are becoming more aware of the value of knowledge that resides in peoples heads. On one hand, one observes greater thrust by the HR departments on creating and maintaining portfolios of organizational skill sets in terms of knowledge assets. On the other hand, one observes the bean counters trying to translate the organizations intangible assets into dollar figures on the companys balance sheets so that they may be used for determining the companys `real worth. The characteristics of a learning environment are that it is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. Experience is not hidden or traded, but freely given to the employee who needs it. Experience is collected, not in order to replace, degrade or evaluate people, but in order to help them (e.g., help them remember; help them collaborate; and help them organize, spread and share data, information, knowledge, and experience). People are encouraged to share experience and help others, and are rewarded based on how much they share. “Tacit knowledge is made explicit via the forums, formally transferred via distance learning, and tacitly reapplied in context. That new tacit knowledge is now available for sharing with others via the same cycle. At each turn of the cycle, the knowledge of the organization increases” (Nonaka 1994), providing potentially greater competitive advantage. "Knowledge has become the key economic resource and the dominant-and perhaps the only-source of competitive advantage." Peter Drucker Knowledge management is concerned with realizing the value of this intellectual capital, which consists of tangible and intangible assets (Kappe, 1999). Tangible assets (corresponding to explicit knowledge) may vary for different industries and applications, but generally they include manuals; directories; customer information; correspondence with (and information about) clients, vendors, and sub-contractors; news; competitor intelligence; employees; competence; patent licenses; and knowledge derived from work processes (working papers, proposals, artifacts). Intangible assets (corresponding to tacit knowledge) consist of skills, experience and knowledge of people within the organization. Knowledge management should not only deal with explicit knowledge, which is generally easier to handle, but also with tacit knowledge. A critical factor for knowledge and experience sharing is that management creates trust amongst employees, and between employees and management. Thus, to create a knowledge sharing organization, following steps can be taken: Analyze knowledge existing in your organization Identify knowledge critical to your business Align business strategy and KM Focus on processes, and tacit, not just explicit knowledge Build upon, not discard, existing it investments Design a future-proof, adaptable KM system architecture Build and deploy a results-driven KM system Implement reward systems, leadership and cultural enablers Develop and apply knowledge metric Learn from KM pioneers/legends and even mistakes KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT- TRENDS AND CONCEPTS The strategic view of Knowledge Management can be defined in the following terms: "Knowledge Management caters to the critical issues of organizational adaption, survival and competence in face of increasingly discontinuous environmental change. Essentially, it embodies organizational processes that seek synergistic combination of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings." Knowledge Management is an emerging discipline that promises to capitalize on organizations’ intellectual capital. The concept of knowledge is far from new and phrases containing the word knowledge such as “knowledge bases” and “knowledge engineering” have been around for a while. The artificial intelligence (AI) community has, for example, long dealt with representation, storage, and application of knowledge. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance”-Confucius “As we gain more knowledge, we do not become more certain, we become certain of more”-Ayn Rand The concept of Knowledge Management (KM) emerged in the mid-1980 from the need to derive knowledge from the “deluge of information” (Lawton, 2001). In the 1990’s KM was translated into commercial computer technology, facilitated by new technologies such as Internet, group support systems, search engines, portals, and data and knowledge warehouses as well as the application of statistical analysis and AI techniques. Knowledge Management can never tap the brains of the employees, but it can help build structures and frameworks for capturing key information that can help retain some knowledge when employees leave. This key information would at least help in understanding what the employee who left knew and what profile his successor needs to have to fill the position. Knowledge Management can help establish routines for identifying knowledge, as well as the people who own the knowledge --- the experts. Competence Management, which also aims at identifying gaps in the knowledge structures, is, besides document management, the second cornerstone in our knowledge management model. Knowledge management is seen as a strategy (or practice, systematic process, set of policies, procedures and technologies) that creates, acquires, transfers, brings to the surface, consolidates, distills, promotes creation, sharing, and enhances the use of knowledge (or information, intellectual assets, intellectual capital) in order to improve organizational performance; support organizational adaptation, survival and competence; gain competitive advantage and customer commitment; improve employees’ comprehension; protect intellectual assets; enhance decisions, services, and products; and reflect new knowledge and insights. KM involves the identification and analysis of available and required knowledge assets and knowledge asset-related processes, and the subsequent planning and control of actions to develop both the assets and the processes in order to fulfill organizational objectives. KARL-ERIK SVEIBY’S MODEL Karl-Erik Sveiby has a more pragmatic view on Knowledge Management and deals more directly with some of the conflicts that might arise. He describes the knowledge organization as consisting of four different types of employees: The Professional The Leader The Clerk The Manager High Professional Competence Low Low High Organizational Competence Source: The four types of personnel in the knowledge organization (Sveiby, 1995, p.68) Sveiby states that Knowledge Management is about handling the professionals of the company, and he states that a balance of terror exists between the powers of organizational competence and the powers of professional competence. This struggle will always go on between creativity and administration and create a field of tension, which can be used to organize creativity so chaos does not occur. Both types of employees with these two types of competence are needed in the organization, and their co-operation is essential. Often the professionals are a minority, and they are located in research and development. This implies that the professionals create their own culture and traditions making collaboration with the rest of the organization harder. COMPANIES USING CKO OFFICERS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES Once a company embraces the concept of knowledge management, its top executives must decide how to implement their KM program and how to convince employees that KM is not simply about adding profits but can strengthen the company and help everyone to work more productively. An increasingly common step in this direction is the appointment of a chief knowledge officer (CKO, with or without that title) who is charged with taking the KM concept from theory to practice. In 1999 the Conference Board, a global research network and business membership organization headquartered in New York, found that although 80 percent of companies had some knowledge management efforts under way, only 25 percent of them employed a chief knowledge officer or chief learning officer. Here, we will analyze the Competitive advantage of some companies brought about by the use of Knowledge Management and CKO officers: MICROSOFT- Microsofts ability to turn on a dime and drive ahead to win in almost any marketplace: the popular examples of the development of its GUI interface when threatened by Apple; or management recognition of the importance of the Internet to the computer business. Its a rare event when any group is able to shift its entire corporate strategy 180 degrees in a period of less than 90 days, let alone a Fortune 500 company. Therein lies Microsofts competitive advantage -- faster, better decision-making. Microsoft has employed a competence management system called SPUD in their organization (Davenport, 1997). With this system, they want to develop a structure of competency types and levels, by rating the performance of employees in particular jobs and linking the competency model to training offerings. XEROX- By including knowledge sharing as a dimension for its prestigious presidents award, leadership at Xerox has demonstrated those senior management values and rewards knowledge-sharing behavior. Two of its best-known KM projects, Eureka and AmberWeb, originally were internal projects developed by workgroups. The Eureka system came from the end-of-the-day meetings of the members of Xeroxs service workgroups. Typically, these meetings were composed of less than a dozen technicians who shared responsibility for servicing the copying machines of specific clients. They would get together to exchange tales of how they had helped to solve the clients problems. Because the technicians indicated that they found these meetings much more useful than Xeroxs service manuals, the company decided to expand the concept throughout its service division. Eureka, a system that electronically gathers and shares tips on service repair for technicians worldwide, was the outcome. Today, there are thousands of tips stored in the Web-based system; Eureka has reduced Xeroxs cost of service by 10 percent. HEWLETT-PACKARD- Famous for its overall culture of collaboration, which encourages knowledge sharing and risk taking on all levels. H-P even supports people who try out things that dont work. The bottom line, HP discovered, was that workgroups already had processes in place that work for them. So the company has chosen not to alter its successful culture to implement across-the-board knowledge management practices. Instead, HP launched a generic global Web site, called Portico, with hot links to all its intranet Web sites. The company also has begun working with customizable vertical portals that allow workers easy access to the information that they are most interested in. Hewlett-Packard is working with E-Portal Suite from Viador Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., as the cornerstone of its distributed enterprise information portal system. Senior management made explicit the desired behavior of employees, in their "vision" statement: "Our consultants feel and act as if they have the knowledge of the entire organization at their fingertips when they consult with customers. We will recognize those consultants that share and those that leverage others knowledge and experience as most valuable members of the HP team." SUCCESS FACTORS FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT A knowledge leader or champion - someone who actively drives the knowledge agenda forward, creates enthusiasm and commitment Top management support - a CEO who recognizes the value of knowledge and who actively supports the knowledge team in its work A clear value proposition - identification of the link between knowledge and the bottom line business benefit; new measures of performance and appropriate rewards. A compelling vision and architecture - frameworks that drive the agenda forward Creation of a culture that supports innovation, learning and knowledge sharing. This is usually supported by appropriate reward mechanisms. A technical infrastructure that supports knowledge work - from simple knowledge support tools to Intranets and ultimately more sophisticated groupware and decision support. Simulation, data mining and good document management also have a role. Systematic knowledge processes- supported by specialists in information management (librarians) but with close partnership between users and providers of information. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Finding time - with so many initiatives vying for attention, it is easy to sideline more challenging issues like knowledge management. However, those organizations that have committed resources and have knowledge champions have achieved outcomes that far surpass the level of inputs Introversion - afraid to learn from outsiders or expose internal operations to customers Too focused on detailed process - rather than the big picture and the more chaotic process of knowledge creation Treating it as one-off project or quick-win - knowledge management is a commitment to the long-term: the organization’s future prosperity. Individual disciplines and turf wars - knowledge management goes beyond the remit of any single function or discipline. All functions must collaborate. Organizational recognition and reward systems usually do not sufficiently recognize knowledge contributions. They are linked to traditional financial measures. None of these challenges are insurmountable. Implementing successful knowledge management requires a systematic change and project management approach. However, it is more than just a project. Over time knowledge management changes the way that people work so that thier individual knowledge is more effectively harnessed for the benefit of all. BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Key organizational resource: employee’s expertise Harnessing intellectual capital in a repository allows organization to retain the knowledge permanently & makes it available to all employees. Gives employee the power of organization’s collective knowledge at the place & time needed. Workforce is more knowledgeable, productive & able to support the organization’s mission. References Davenport, T. H. and Prusak, L., “Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know”, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1998. Drucker, Peter F. "Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself" Leader to Leader. 16 (Spring 2000): 8-10. Kappe, F., “Hyperwave White Paper - Version 1.2”, Hyperwave Research & Development, 1999, http://www.hyperwave.com/ Lawton, G., "Knowledge Management: Ready for Prime Time?," IEEE Computer, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2001, pp. 12-14 Nonaka 1994; and M. H. Zack and J. L. McKenney, "Social Context and Interaction In Ongoing Computer-Supported Management Groups", Organization Science, vol. 6, no. 4, July-August, 1995 Current Business Concerns and Knowledge Management. Retrieved September 8 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.brint.com/interview/times.htm Who Is the CKO? Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.destinationkm.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=232 Knowledge Management in Software Engineering. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.dacs.dtic.mil/techs/kmse/kmse.pdf An Introduction to Knowledge Management as a Framework for Competitive Intelligence. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.aurorawdc.com/arj_cics_ekma.htm Knowledge Management. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.skyrme.com/insights/22km.htm AIA Knowledge Assembly. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.aia.org/nwsltr_yaf.cfm?pagename=yaf_a_120103_know What Is Knowledge Management? Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/kd/CreateCareers Role of HR in Institutionalizing Knowledge Management in a Company. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.kwork.org/White_Papers/hr-km.html#Create Grass Roots Are Greener. Retrieved September 9 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.destinationkm.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=198 Read More