Transcript IE381_KM - Pohang University of Science and Technology

Knowledge Management
Rev: Feb, 2012
Euiho (David) Suh, Ph.D.
POSTECH Strategic Management of Information and Technology Laboratory
(POSMIT: http://posmit.postech.ac.kr)
Dept. of Industrial & Management Engineering
POSTECH
Contents
※
Discussion Questions
1
Concept of Knowledge
2
Knowledge Management (KM)
(1)
Concept and Technology of KM
(2)
Knowledge Management Process (KMP)
3
Knowledge Management System (KMS)
4
Knowledge Management & IT
5
Communities of Practice (CoP)
6
Case Study
Discussion Questions
■ Explain more than three definitions of knowledge
■ How is knowledge different from data and information?
■ What are the purposes of KM? Give your opinion about why KM is important in a
company?
■ What is KMP? Briefly explain each step of the process
■ What kinds of IT can be used to KMP? Give an example for each step
■ What is CoP? Make an hypothetical example of CoP and give your own way to make it
successful
3
Knowledge
1. Concept of Knowledge
■ Definition of Knowledge
– A justified belief that increases an entity’s capacity for effective action
[Huber, 1991; Nonaka, 1994]
– Personalized information related to facts, procedures, concepts, interpretations, ideas,
observations, and judgments [Alavi, 2001]
■ Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge [Dreske, 1981; Machlup, 1983; Vance, 1997]
Data
Information
Knowledge
Raw numbers and facts
Processed data
Authenticated Information
■ Alternative Perspectives
Perspective
Definition of Knowledge
State of mind
State of Knowing and Understanding
Object
Object to be stored and manipulated
Process
Process of Applying Expertise
Access to Information
Capability
Condition of access to information
Potential to influence action
4
2. Knowledge Management
(1) Concept and Technology of KM
Knowledge Management (KM)
■ Definition
– Strategies and processes designed to identify, capture, structure, value, leverage, and share
an organization’s intellectual assets(knowledge) to enhance the organization’s performance and
competitiveness
■ Critical Activities of KM
Capture and documentation
of individual explicit and tacit knowledge
Disseminate it
within the organization
■ Purposes of KM
– Making knowledge visible and show the role of knowledge in an organization
– Developing a knowledge-intensive culture
– Building a knowledge infrastructure
■ Successful knowledge management
– Creating techniques, technologies, systems, & rewards for getting employees to share
what they know
– Making better use of accumulated workplace and enterprise knowledge
5
2. Knowledge Management
(1) Concept and Technology of KM
Knowledge Management Techniques
Enterprise
Intelligence
Leveraging organizational “know-how”
Performance support
Interacting with operational databases
Building expert networks
Capturing & distributing expert stories
Real-time information management
Communication and collaboration
New content creation
Information Creation,
Sharing,
and Management
Accessing and retrieving
documents stored online
Document Management
6
Knowledge Management Process (KMP)
Knowledge
Creation
Knowledge
Storage/
Retrieval
2. Knowledge Management
(2) Knowledge Management Process
Knowledge
Transfer
(Sharing)
7
Knowledge
Application
2. Knowledge Management
(2) Knowledge Management Process
Knowledge Creation
■ Definition [Pentland, 1995]
– Developing new content or replacing existing content within the organization’s tacit and
explicit knowledge
■ Four modes of Knowledge Creation [Nonaka, 1994]
– Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization
■ Organization’s “ba” [Nonaka and Konno, 1998]
– Environments facilitating new knowledge creation
– Common place or space for creating knowledge
Type of ba
Corresponding
mode
Explanation
Originating ba
Socialization
Common place where individuals share experiences through face-toface interactions
Interacting ba
Externalization
Space where tacit knowledge is converted to explicit knowledge and
shared through the process of dialogue and collaboration
Cyber ba
Combination
Virtual space of interaction
Exercising ba
Internalization
Space for active and continuous individual learning
8
2. Knowledge Management
(2) Knowledge Management Process
Knowledge Storage/Retrieval
■ Definition [Stein and Zwass, 1995]
– Collective or organizational memory; the means by which knowledge from the past,
experience, and events influence present organizational activities
■ Necessity [Argote et al., 1990; Darr et al., 1995]
– While organizations create knowledge and learn, they also forget
(i.e., do not remember or lose track of the acquired knowledge)
■ Types of Organizational Memory [El Sawy et al., 1996; Stein and Zwass, 1995]
Semantic
Episodic
• General, explicit, and articulated knowledge
• e.g., organizational archives of annual reports
• Context-specific and situated knowledge
• e.g., specific circumstances of organizational
decisions and their outcomes, place, and time
■ Effects of Knowledge Storage
Positive
Negative
• Facilitating implementation of the change
• Storing and reapplying workable solutions in the
for of standards and procedures
→ Avoiding waste of resources from previous work
• Individual level: Possibility of decision-making bias
• Organizational level: Possibility of maintaining the
status quo by reinforcing single loop learning
9
2. Knowledge Management
(2) Knowledge Management Process
Knowledge Transfer
■ Definition
– Process of transferring knowledge
to locations where it is needed
and can be used
■ Driving Force
– Communication processes
– Information flows
■ Five Elements of
Knowledge Transfer
[Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000]
Fig 1. Knowledge Transfer among Individuals in a Group
10
1) Perceived value
of the source unit’s knowledge
2) Motivational disposition
of the source
3) Existence and richness
of transmission channels
4) Motivational disposition
of the receiving unit
5) The absorptive capacity
of the receiving unit
2. Knowledge Management
(2) Knowledge Management Process
Knowledge Application
■ Definition
– Integration of knowledge to create organizational capability
■ Importance of Knowledge Application
– Source of competitive advantage resides in the application of the knowledge,
rather than in the knowledge itself
■ Three Primary Mechanisms [Grant, 1996b]
1) Directives
• Specific set of rules, standards, procedures, and instructions developed through the conversion of
specialists’ tacit knowledge to explicit and integrated knowledge for efficient communication to nonspecialists [Demsetz, 1991]
2) Organizational routines
The development of task performance and coordination patterns
Interaction protocols
Process specifications
Allowing individuals to apply and integrate their specialized knowledge without articulation or
communication
• Relatively simple or highly complex
(e.g. organizing activities based on time-patterned sequences such as an assembly line /
a cockpit crew flying a large passenger airplane)
•
•
•
•
3) Self-contained task teams
• Solving problems in situations where task uncertainty and complexity prevent
the specification of directives and organizational routines
11
Knowledge Management System (KMS)
3. Knowledge Management System
■ Definition
– A class of information systems applied to managing organizational knowledge
■ Necessity of KMS
– Reliance of knowledge management on IT as an important enabler
■ Characteristics of KMS
–
–
–
–
Major strategic use of IT
Managing organizational learning and know-how
Helping knowledge workers create, organize, and make available important knowledge
Making knowledge available wherever and whenever it is needed
■ Common Applications of IT to KM
– Coding and sharing best practices: internal benchmarking
– Creation of corporate knowledge directories: map internal expertise
– Creation of knowledge networks: online forums for discussions
12
KMP & IT
4. Knowledge Management & IT
■ Knowledge Management Processes and the Potential Role of IT
Knowledge
Management
Process
Supporting
Information
Technologies
IT Enables
Platform
Technologies
Knowledge Creation
• Data mining
• Learning tools
• Combining new
sources of
knowledge
• Just in time learning
Knowledge
Storage/Retrieval
Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge
Application
• Electronic bulletin
boards
• Knowledge
repositories
• Databases
• Electronic bulletin
boards
• Discussion forums
• Knowledge
directories
• Expert systems
• Workflow systems
• Know
• Support of individual
and organizational
memory
• Inter-group
knowledge access
• More extensive
internal network
• More communication
channels available
• Faster access to
knowledge sources
• Knowledge can be
applied in many
locations
• More rapid
application of new
knowledge through
workflow automation
Groupware and communication technologies
INTRANETS
13
Knowledge Perspectives & KM & KMS
4. Knowledge Management & IT
■ Knowledge Perspectives and Their Implications
Perspectives
Definition of Knowledge
Implications for Knowledge
Management
Implications for Knowledge
Management Systems
Knowledge visa-vis Data and
information
Personalized Information
Exposing individuals to potentially
useful information and facilitating
assimilation of information
Extending toward helping in user
assimilation of information
State of mind
The State of Knowing and
Understanding
Enhancing individual’s learning and
understanding through provision
of information
Providing access to sources of
knowledge rather than knowledge
itself
An Object to be stored and
manipulated
Building and managing knowledge
stocks
Gathering, storing, and transferring
knowledge
A Process of Applying Expertise
Knowledge flows and the process
of creation, sharing, and
distributing knowledge
Providing link among sources of
knowledge to create wider breadth
and depth of knowledge flows
A Condition of access to
information
Organized access to and retrieval
of content
Providing effective search and
retrieval mechanisms for locating
relevant information
Building core competencies and
understanding strategic know-how
Enhancing intellectual capital by
supporting development of
individual and organizational
competencies
Object
Process
Access to
Information
Capability
The Potential to influence action
14
Communities of Practice (CoP) (1/2)
5. Communities of Practice
■ Definition of CoP
– Groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion in free-flowing,
creative ways that foster new approaches to problems
• Engineers engaged in deep-water drilling
• Consultants who specialize in strategic marketing
• Frontline managers in charge of check processing at a large commercial bank
■ Purposes of CoP
– To develop members’ capabilities and to build and exchange knowledge
■ Functions of CoP
–
–
–
–
–
–
Driving strategy
Generating new lines of business
Solving problems
Promoting the spread of best practices
Developing people’s professional skills
Helping companies recruit and retain talent
15
Communities of Practice (CoP) (2/2)
5. Communities of Practice
■ Reasons Why CoP aren’t More Prevalent
– Recently established term
– Only several dozen forward-thinking companies trying to “install” or nurture them
– CoP’s characteristic that it is not particularly easy to build and sustain them or to integrate
them with the rest of organization
■ Way to successfully Nurture CoP
Bring the right People
together
Provide an Infrastructure
where communities can thrive
 The task is to identify such
groups and help them
come together as CoP
 CoP are vulnerable because they lack the
legitimacy – and the budgets – of
established departments
 Defining a community’s
domain makes members
feel personally connected
to the group’s area
 One way to strengthen CoP is to provide
them with official sponsors and support
teams
16
Evaluate the Communities’
value in nontraditional ways
 The effects of CoP are often delayed
 Results generally appear in the work of
teams and businesses, not in the CoP
 The best way to evaluate CoP is
listening to members’ stories, which can
clarify the complex relationships among
activities, knowledge, and performance
Case Study
6. Case Study
17
Reference
■ O’Brien & Marakas, “Introduction to Information Systems – Fifteenth Edition”,
McGraw – Hill, Chapter 2, pp. 43~71
■ Maryam Alavi and Dorothy E. Leidner, “Review: Knowledge Management and
Knowledge Manage Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Reasarch Issues”,
MIS Quarterly Vol.25 No.1, pp.107-136/March 2001
■ Etienne C. Wegner and William M. Snyder, “Communities of Practice: The
Organizational Frontier, Harvard Business Review, January-February 2000
■ “What is knowledge management? definition and meaning”, BusinessDictionary.com
18