Knowledge Management

1

• Knowledge Management

2
Knowledge Management

• Knowledge management (KM) is a process that helps
  organizations identify, select, organize,
  disseminate, and transfer important information
  and expertise that are part of the organizations
  memory.

3
Data, Information Knowledge
4
Knowledge Management

• Knowledge is information that is contextual,
  relevant, and actionable.
• Tacit knowledge is usually in the domain of
  subjective, cognitive, and experiential learning.
  
• Explicit knowledge deals with more objective,
  rational, and technical knowledge.

5
By Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995
6
Knowledge-based Economy

• Rapid changes in the business environment cannot
  be handled in traditional ways.
• Firms are much larger, with higher turnover and
  require better tools for collaboration,
  communication, and knowledge sharing.
• Firms must develop strategies to sustain
  competitive advantage by leveraging their
  intellectual assets for optimum performance.
• Managing knowledge is now critical for firms
  spread out over wide geographical areas, and for
  virtual organizations.

7
Sharing Knowledge

• Some reasons people are reluctant to share
  knowledge include
• No skill in knowledge management techniques.
• Willing to share, but not enough time to do so.
• Dont understand knowledge management and
  benefits.
• Lack of appropriate technology.
• No commitment from senior managers.
• No funding for knowledge management.
• Culture does not encourage knowledge sharing.

8
Organization Culture

• The ability of an organization to learn, develop
  memory, and share knowledge is dependent on its
  culture.
• Culture is a pattern of shared basic assumptions.
• Over time organizations learn what works and what
  doesnt work. As the lessons become second
  nature, they become part of the organizational
  culture.
• Generally when a technology project fails, it is
  because the technology does not match the
  organizations culture.

9
The Knowledge Management Cycle

• Create knowledge
• Capture knowledge
• Refine knowledge
• Store knowledge
• Manage knowledge
• Disseminate knowledge

10
The Knowledge Management Cycle (cont.)
11
Knowledge Repositories

• Databases. It is possible to structure part of a
  knowledge repository as a database.
• Data warehouses, large repositories of important
  data, can also be used for knowledge management,
  especially in conjunction with customer
  relationship management (CRM) systems.

12
KM Information Technologies

• The KMS challenge is to identify and integrate
  the following three technologies to meet the KM
  needs of an organization.
• Communication technologies allow users to access
  needed knowledge, and to communicate with each
  other--especially with experts.
• Collaboration technologies provide the means to
  perform group work.
• Storage technologies use a database management
  system to capture, store and manage knowledge.

13
Knowledge Management Benefits

• Reduction in loss of intellectual capital when
  people leave the company
• Reduction in costs by decreasing the number of
  times the company must repeatedly solve the same
  problem
• Economies of scale in obtaining information from
  external providers
• Reduction in redundancy of knowledge-based
  activities
• Increase in productivity by making knowledge
  available more quickly easily
• Increase in employee satisfaction by enabling
  greater personal development and empowerment
• Strategic competitive advantage in the
  marketplace

14
Managerial Issues Integration

• Since a KM system is an enterprise system, it
  must be integrated with other enterprise and
  information systems in an organization.
• The most important systems to integrate with are
• Decision Support Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Databases and Information Systems
• Customer Relationship Management Systems
• Supply Chain Management Systems
• Corporate Intranets and Extranets