What is Knowledge Management? Prof. Elaine Ferneley + Prof. Andrew Basden What is Knowledge Management? Prof. Elaine Ferneley + Prof. Andrew Basden

Prof Elaine Ferneley Objectives nWhat is Knowledge Management (KM)? nWhat are the driving forces? nRole of KM in today’s organization nKnowledge nKnowledge Management Systems nEffective Knowledge Management

Prof Elaine Ferneley Knowledge as Key Resource n“Knowledge has become the key resource, for a nation’s military strength as well as for its economic strength… is fundamentally different from the traditional key resources of the economist – land, labor, and even capital…we need systematic work on the quality of knowledge and the productivity of knowledge … the performance capacity, if not the survival, of any organization in the knowledge society will come increasingly to depend on those two factors” [Drucker,1994]

Prof Elaine Ferneley A world of rapidly growing knowledge …. > One week in 2007 A person’s lifetime in 18th century

Prof Elaine Ferneley What is Knowledge Management? nKnowledge management (KM) may be defined simply as doing what is needed to get the most out of knowledge resources. nKM focuses on organizing and making available important knowledge, wherever and whenever it is needed. nKM is also related to the concept of intellectual capital.

Prof Elaine Ferneley Skryme (1999) Knowledge Management Definition Knowledge Management is the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and associated processes of creation, organization, diffusion, use and exploitation nexplicit: knowledge is explicitly recognized; nsystematic: too important to be left to chance; nvital: focus on what is important; nprocesses: encourage knowledge creating environment.

Prof Elaine Ferneley Why we need Knowledge Management now ( nMarketplaces are increasingly competitive and the rate of innovation is rising. nReductions in staffing create a need to replace informal knowledge with formal methods. nCompetitive pressures reduce the size of the work force that holds valuable business knowledge. nThe amount of time available to experience and acquire knowledge has diminished. nEarly retirements and increasing mobility of the work force lead to loss of knowledge.

Prof Elaine Ferneley nMost of our work is now information based. nOrganizations compete on the basis of knowledge. nProducts and services are increasingly complex, endowing them with a significant information component. nThe need for life-long learning is an inescapable reality. nIn brief, knowledge and information have become the medium in which business problems occur. As a result, managing knowledge represents the primary opportunity for achieving substantial savings, significant improvements in human performance, and competitive advantage. Why we need Knowledge Management now (

CreatingCapturingSharingCapitalising KnowledgeKnowledge Knowledge Management Components This course will focus on these Knowledge Management Components

Prof Elaine Ferneley Information & Communication Technology Knowledge Management The composite management of: ProcessesInformation People

Prof Elaine Ferneley A word from our sponsor… “Most activities or tasks are not onetime events. Our philosophy is fairly simple: Every time we do something again, we should do it better than the last time.” Sir John Browne CEO, BP “Anyone in the organisation who is not directly accountable for making a profit should be involved in creating and distributing knowledge that the company can use to make a profit.”

Prof Elaine Ferneley Managing Knowledge? “The idea is not to create an encyclopaedia of everything that everybody knows, but to keep track of people who ‘know the recipe’, and nurture the technology and culture that will get them talking” Arian Ward, BP Communications Director Capturing Connecting

Prof Elaine Ferneley EXPLICIT AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE Drucker 2003 Oral Communication “Tacit” Knowledge 85% Information Request “Explicit” Knowledge Explicit Knowledge Base 15 % Information Feedback

Prof Elaine Ferneley What are Knowledge Management “Systems” ? mechanisms nSocial/Structural mechanisms (e.g., mentoring and retreats, etc.) for promoting knowledge sharing. information technologies nLeading-edge information technologies (e.g., Web-based conferencing) to support KM mechanisms. synergy nKnowledge management systems (KMS): the synergy between social/structural mechanisms and latest technologies.

Prof Elaine Ferneley THE KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION nThe middle layer addresses the KM life cycle nA knowledge organization derives knowledge from customer, product, and financial knowledge. Also from financial practices nIndicators of knowledge: thinking actively and ahead, not passively and behind nUsing technology to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation Collect Organize Refine Disseminate Culture Leadership Technology Intelligence Maintain Competition Knowledge Management Process KM Drivers Knowledge Organizatio n Create

Prof Elaine Ferneley Mechanistic approaches to KM nMechanistic approaches to knowledge management are characterized by the application of technology and resources to do more of the same better. nThe main assumptions of the mechanistic approach include: uBetter accessibility to information is a key, including enhanced methods of access and reuse of documents (hypertext linking, databases, full-text search, etc.) uNetworking technology in general (especially intranets), and groupware in particular, will be key solutions. nIn general, technology and sheer volume of information will make it work.

Prof Elaine Ferneley Cultural/behavioristic approaches to KM nCultural/behavioristic approaches, with substantial roots in process re- engineering and change management, tend to view the "knowledge problem" as a management issue. Technology — though ultimately essential for managing explicit knowledge resources — is not the solution. These approaches tend to focus more on innovation and creativity (the "learning organization") than on leveraging existing explicit resources or making working knowledge explicit. nAssumptions of cultural/behaviouristic approaches often include: uOrganizational behaviours and culture need to be changed … dramatically. In our information-intensive environments, organizations become dysfunctional relative to business objectives. uOrganizational behaviours and culture can be changed, but traditional technology and methods of attempting to solve the "knowledge problem" have reached their limits of effectiveness. A "holistic" view is required. Theories of behaviour of large-scale systems are often invoked. uIt’s the processes that matter, not the technology. uNothing happens or changes unless a manager makes it happen.

Prof Elaine Ferneley Classification of Knowledge Management Systems uKnowledge Discovery Systems uKnowledge Capture Systems uKnowledge Sharing Systems uKnowledge Application Systems As this course is an IS course we will focus on these Knowledge Management Technologies