Designing Knowledge Management Architecture How to implement successful KM Programs

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Designing Knowledge Management ArchitectureHow
to implement successful KM Programs

• Book By
• Prof Archana Shukla
• Prof R. Srinivasan
• Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
• Publisher Response Books
• Power point presentation prepared by Er Dileep
  Kumar
• Secretary, Association of Knowledge Workers

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Introduction

• In an economy where the only certainty is
  uncertainty, the one sure source of competitive
  advantage is knowledge. When market shift ,
  technologies proliferate, competitors multiply,
  and products become obsolete almost overnight,
  successful companies are those that consistently
  create new knowledge, disseminate it widely
  throughout the organization, and quickly embody
  it in technologies and products- Nonaka,1991
• What significantly adds value and contributes to
  competitive advantage in the information and
  Technology age is the ability to manage
  Knowledge within the organization.
• The Business environment forces are Speed, Smart
  products and Service intensity, Globalization,
  Shortening product life cycle, and Network
  intensity

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Difference in Information Management KM

• IM focus on recording and processing explicit
  information
• KM Focus on capturing tacit and explicit
  information
• IM Takes information from multiple sources and
  organizes into database system
• KM takes information from one source and
  promotes reuse in other situations
• IM designed for centralized information storage
  and control
• KM designed for distributed access, storage and
  control
• IM emphasises inquiries to highly structured
  repositories
• KM Emphasizes collaboration and sharing
• IM Dependent on well defined inquiries for
  retrieval, productivity for efficiency
• KM Employs technologies (e.g. visualization) for
  knowledge discovery, productivity for innovation

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Demystifying KM

• IT is a significant enabler of the KM initiative
  , there is much more to KM than just IT
  infrastructure.
• KM not only manages explicit knowledge but also
  tacit knowledge that is embedded in the systems,
  products, processes and in peoples minds. I.T.
  can at best capture explicit knowledge and to
  capture tacit knowledge we need other
  complementary systems like periodic meetings,
  apprenticeships, mentoring and a culture of
  sharing
• Focal point in KM is around people and not around
  technology. In order to motivate people to share
  and apply the knowledge that is managed , the KM
  program should relate to the organizations
  purpose and strategy. The KM architecture should
  be evolved with reference to the corporate
  strategy and the strategic intent. KM emphasises
  on the creation and building of dynamic
  organizational/ personal capabilities to interact
  with the environment

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KM Conceptualization

• Organizational Knowledge what an organization
  knows, how it uses what it knows and how fast it
  can know something new
• Organizational Memory An explicit , disembodied
  , persistent representation of knowledge and
  information in the organization
• Knowledge Management A systematic and organized
  attempt to generate knowledge within an
  organization that can transform its ability to
  store and use knowledge for improving performance
  
• Types of Knowledge Tacit and explicit
• Tacit knowledge is highly personal something
  not easily visible and expressible. Subjective
  insights, intuitions, and hunches fall into this
  category. It is deeply rooted in an individuals
  action and experience, as well as in the ideals ,
  values or emotions he or she embraces. Its two
  dimensions are technical dimensions consisting
  of informal skills and crafts that are hard to
  document and the cognitive dimension that
  encompasses schemata, mental models, beliefs and
  perceptions that are so engrained in people that
  they are actually taken for granted

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Learning Cycle and the Strategic Process Of
Learning

• Learning Cycle consists of concrete
  experiences, reflective observation, abstract
  conceptualization and active experimentation
• Organizational Learning consists of Organization
  picks up signals from the environment (Past ,
  Present and Future) ,The organization analyses
  and reflects upon these experiences in the form
  of a situation audit where SWOT are analysed ,
  The next stage is abstract conceptualization
  where the organization defines its purpose ,
  vision / mission, goals/ objectives and generates
  strategic options. In the last stage , the
  organization implements the chosen strategy and
  monitors / evaluates the performance of the
  strategy. This feedback on performance provides
  the organization with a new set of experiences,
  leading to the next cycle

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Concepts of KM .contd

• Knowledge Cycle The progression is from events
  to data, information and knowledge
• Tacit Knowledge Cycle The progression is from
  Functional to Phenomenal, Semantic and
  application
• An organization needs to manage all types of
  knowledge, either high on tacit dimension (like
  intuition) , or high on explicit dimension (like
  rules)
• Modes of Knowledge Conversion within
  Organizations from tacit to tacit across
  individuals through socialization with peers,
  tacit to explicit by externalization process,
  explicit to tacit by internalization process and
  from explicit to explicit by combination .
  Internalization is closely related to
  organizational learning. In externalization
  Metaphors, analogies figures, models are used to
  communicate tacit kn.

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Knowledge Creation Process

• Organization knowledge creation is a continuous
  and a dynamic interaction between tacit and
  explicit knowledge
• Process of Knowledge Creation
• Enabling conditions, intentions, autonomy,
  fluctuation/ creative chaos, redundancy,
  requisite variety . (A).
  Externalization
• 1.Sharing of Tacit Knowledge we need to evolve
  norms and/ or systems of observation,
  documentation, reporting, and dissemination of
  practices , habits, working patterns, style and
  thought process
• 2. Creating Concepts means sharing of tacit
  knowledge that corresponds roughly roughly to
  socialization. Sharing is facilitated through the
  creation of a field of interaction, where members
  share their experiences and mental models

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Knowledge Creation Processcontd

• Sharing Tacit Knowledge The process starts with
  the sharing of tacit knowledge that corresponds
  roughly to socialization.
• Creating Concepts The shared tacit models , when
  expressed in words and phrases , give rise to
  explicit concepts or creating concepts and give
  rise to externalization process.
• Justifying Concepts Concepts created are
  justified in the light of whether they are
  worthwhile for the organization to expend effort
  , time and resources
• Building an archetype When justified concepts
  are put to test in the form of an archetype or
  prototype, the organization enters in this phase

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Knowledge Creation Processcontd

• Cross-leveling of knowledge It kicks off a new
  cycle of knowledge generation based on prototype
  created. This new knowledge creation can happen
  either within organization or outside the
  organization (amongst its customers, supplier,
  competitors, affiliates etc) through dynamic
  interaction
• Three major imperatives in this transformation
  Use of metaphors and analogies transforming
  personal knowledge in organizational knowledge
  and an organizational climate of chaos and
  redundancy
• Metaphors are used in organizations to highlight
  certain distinctive people , behavior, products
  or processes
• Analogies are more structured , and are used to
  highlight differences or similarities among
  concepts

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Knowledge Creation Process, Three major
imperatives in this transformation contd

• Organization wide dialogues, discussions,
  experience sharing, and observation can help in
  disseminating explicit individual knowledge among
  all in the organization, therefore, create
  organizational knowledge
• To transform tacit knowledge with individual to
  organizational knowledge , we need to evolve
  norms and / or systems for observations,
  documentation, reporting, and dissemination of
  practices, habits, working patterns, style and
  thought process. Another way of transformation is
  to create an organizational climate of chaos and
  redundancy. When directions from the top
  management are ambiguous , operational details
  are shifted to down to lower ranks of the
  hierarchy. This fosters lot of creativity within
  the organization

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Organizational Knowledge Creation Process, ..

• Enabling Conditions, intentions, autonomy,
  Fluctuation/ creative chaos, Redundancy,
  requisite variety
• A B Internalization, CDEF Market

B. Combination 3.Justifying Concepts 4. Building
an archetype 5.Cross Leveline Knowledge

• Externalization
• 1.Sharing of tacit
• knowledge
• 2. creating Concepts

C. From Collaborating organizations
D. From Users
E. Internalization By Users
F. Explicit Knowledge As advertisement,
patents Products/ services
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Challenges in creating Organizational
knowledge,out of individual knowledge

• 1. Unloading burden of past experience, arising
  out of organizational history. It blinds people
  from critically analyzing and confronting new
  data.
• 2. To break organizational defensive routines or
  norms of behavior
• 3. To overcome tunnel vision in people people
  view context from their own perspective and
  other reason is organizational structure, culture
  and norms (e.g. functional silos, culture of
  conformity)
• 4. bounded rationality individuals enact and
  create their own world. Organizations are
  socially constructed mental models residing in
  the minds of the individuals. A systematic
  initiative is therefore required to break these
  obstacles.
• 5.The main issue that arises who in the
  organization is responsible for creation of
  knowledge? Yes-no individual or department

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The Process of Managing Knowledge in organizations

• Stage 1 Capture-identify the required knowledge
  domains in alignment with KM strategy, locate the
  source of knowledge (internal/external), and
  acquire or generate the required knowledge
• Stage2 Collate classify/ codify the knowledge
  objects (document and create knowledge bases),
  synthesize (seek patterns across different
  knowledge objects), identify the target groups
  for the different knowledge objects , represent
  (refine, organize and present the knowledge
  objects in a user friendly manner) , and adapt
  (translate the knowledge objects to the local
  context)
• Stage 3 Share- implement and maintain knowledge
  sharing systems (like groupware, email, bulletin
  boards, meetings, etc) and disseminate (to the
  relevant target groups)

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The Process of Managing Knowledge in organizations

• Stage 4 Capitalize-monitor usage, assess/
  measure the benefits of knowledge management in
  terms of specified knowledge goals, get feedback,
  review and renew the knowledge bases (including
  identification of new knowledge to be captured),
  and embed knowledge into the organizations value
  creation activities (products, services, and or
  information)
• Cycle of Knowledge Management Process The stages
  are mutually exclusive they are often
  concurrent, overlapping and do not necessarily
  progress sequentially
• Capture
  
• capitalize
  Collate
• Share

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A frame work for implementing Knowledge
Management Programs

• As per Beckman(1999)Six perspectives of KM are
  Conceptual, Process, Technology, Organizational,
  Management and Implementation
• The Conceptual perspective includes variety of
  definitions as a field, characterization of the
  field of the KM in the dimensions like storage
  media, accessibility, typology, hierarchy and
  development of principles and frameworks for
  managing knowledge form part of the literature.
• The Process perspective of KM is concerned with
  the specific steps involved in generating ,
  formalizing, distributing, sharing and applying
  organizational knowledge
• The Technological perspective focuses on the use
  of I.T. for implementing a KM program in the
  organization. It includes creation of a IT
  infrastructure , representation of the knowledge
  objects within the systems, formation of
  knowledge repositories and databases, combining
  these repositories into integrated Performance
  Support Systems (IPSS) and knowledge
  transformation by data mining etc

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A frame work for implementing Knowledge
Management Programs

• 4.The organizational perspective is concerned
  with with the internal organization that is
  created for spreading , evangelizing, and
  implementing KM e.g. KM task forces, Chief
  Knowledge Officer, KM specialists, etc. It deals
  with creating a culture of sharing, trust
  worthiness, collaboration and cooperation
• 5.The management perspective deals with the
  measurement and evaluation of the benefits of
  implementing a KM program for business goals, and
  the emergent rewards / incentives/ motivational
  systems for participation in KM program to
  individuals
• 6. The implementation perspective focuses on
  specific issues encountered in the implementation
  process- the building of IT infrastructure,
  identification of critical success factors for
  implementing KM, understanding the prerequisites
  and challenges, and integration of KM with
  business and corporate strategies
• All these perspectives should not be seen as
  independent of each other , but a continuum of
  decisions on KM strategy, KM objects, design,
  aligning HR practices and other processes like
  TQM, how KM is going to add value to the business
  imperative

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Decisions in designing a KM program

• Knowledge Architecture decisions include
  knowledge mapping, i.e., what knowledge is
  required for the business including objects
  required, their location, who needs, how to
  classify, and codify this knowledge in
  repositories, databases etc
• Systems and Technology includes implementation
  structures, systems for dissemination, access and
  usage and technology used for accumulation ,
  review, administration and access control of the
  knowledge base generated
• People Issues includes motivating people to
  participate in the KM program creating a culture
  of knowledge sharing, institutionalizing awards,,
  incentives and peer recognition schemes, and
  aligning compensation and performance etc