CHAPTER 10 KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE E-WORLD

The E-World Intranets Internet technology to serve the internal needs of an organization Superior to traditional internal communication systems Link knowledge workers and smart managers around the clock Automate intra-organizational traffic Justified when there are 100 or more employees Justified when knowledge transfer must reach its destination in a hurry

Corporate Intranet—A Conceptual Model Knowledge Workers-- Personnel Sales Committee— New Product Budget Director— New Product CORPORATE INTRANET Production Team— New Product Advertising Team— New Product

Extranets and Knowledge Exchange A company Web site linking two or more trading partners (B2B or extranet) System designers at each participating company must collaborate to ensure a common interface Faster time to market, increased partner interaction, and customer loyalty

General Extranet Layout Distributors Firewall Corporate intranet Customers INTERNET Suppliers Corporate intranet Firewall

Extranets (cont’d) Extranets ensure lasting bonds between partners and corporate members A champion is essential to extranet success Extranets are bound to be the technical community to generate revenue and ensure competitive advantage

Groupware Facilitates connections between people and how knowledge is transferred between knowledge seekers and knowledge providers Software that helps people work together from a distance Categorized according to whether users are working face to face or in different locations Categorized also according to whether users are working together at the same time or different times

Groupware Categories Same Place (face to face) Different Place (distance) Voting, Presentation support Chat room Teleconferencing Peer-to-peer or Workflow process, Shared computers E-mail Same Time Different Time

Prerequisites for Success Compatibility of software Perceived benefit to every member of the group Successful structure of communication

Key Rules for Session Control Users should not impose a session on others Conversational group members identified before allowed into a session System should control unnecessary interruptions A group member allowed to enter and leave at any time A max on how many people can participate and how long session should last A moderator should control access to a shared whiteboard and how long access should last Ensure anonymity, privacy, and accountability at all times

Groupware Applications E-Mail and Knowledge Transfer Intranet and e-mail a marriage made in “cyberheaven” E-mail getting smarter E-mail becoming standard for knowledge dissemination of all kinds

Groupware Applications (cont’d) Newsgroups and work-flow systems Chat rooms Video communication Knowledge sharing Group calendaring and scheduling

E-Business Brings universal access of Internet to the core business process of exchanging information between businesses, between people within a business, and between a business and its many clients

E-Business (cont’d) Focus is on knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing Connects critical business systems directly to critical constituencies Enables learning companies accomplish several goals: Create new products or services Build customer loyalty via knowledge exchange and sharing Enrich human capital by direct knowledge transfer Make use of current technologies for R & D and creation of new knowledge for new products and services Achieve market leadership and competitive advantage

E-Business Problems and Drawbacks System and knowledge integrity Viruses cause unnecessary delays, file backups, storage problems, etc. Danger of hackers accessing files and corrupting accounts Corporate vulnerability to access by the competition

Changes in Organizational Makeup Empowerment of front-line workers Informating of key business activities Outsourcing and downsizing of large organizations Partnering between and among knowledge workers Cross-functional business processes

The Value Chain A way of organizing primary and secondary activities of a business, where each provides “value added” to total operation A way of looking at how various knowledge exchange adds value to adjacent activities and to the company in general Everywhere value is added is where knowledge is created, transferred, or shared

A Knowledge-Based Value Chain Purchase materials (inbound logistics) Outbound logistics (storing/distributing products) Operations Marketing and sales Service Supportive Activities Corporate Infrastructure (planning, finance, accounting legal services, etc.) Technology Development Procurement Human Resources

SCM and Knowledge Exchange SCM means having the right product in the right place, at the right time, at the right price, in the right condition SCM means collaboration, knowledge sharing of logistics, and consensus among knowledge workers and suppliers Goals of SCM is improving efficiency and profitability SCM employs powerful tools to allow companies to exchange and update information

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Goal is to enhance relationship management with customers and supply chain partners A business strategy to learn more about customers’ needs and behavior to develop stronger relationships with them

CRM Benefits Increased customer satisfaction Cross-selling products efficiently Making call centers more efficient Helping sales staff close deals faster Simplifying marketing and sales processes Discovering new customers

CRM’s Critical Elements--Operational component Personalization services Secure services to enforce security rules Publishing services to document location and meaning of business content Access services to help users find and access portal content Subscription services to deliver business content via e-mail, fax, or other media

CRM’s Critical Elements—Analytical Component Allow capture of a very large volume of data and transform it into analysis formats to support enterprise-wide analytical requirements Deploy knowledge—an integrated system that quickly enables processing of the intelligence gathered from analytical environments Calculate metrics by deployed business rules

Typical CRM Network Customer IP Phone Supply Chain Partners Telephone Call ----- Call Center Purchase Order Returns Corporate Database Customer Information Web-Based Portal

CHAPTER 10 KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE E-WORLD