INF201 Week 2 Lecture

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INF201 Week 2 Lecture

• Introduction to knowledge management and
  organisational learning
• Philippa Levy

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Objectives

• To identify connections between information
  management (IM), KM and organisational learning
  (OL)
• To introduce widely-used conceptual models of
  relevance to KM and OL

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Key questions

• What is involved in organisational learning?
• How do KM, IM and organisational learning relate
  to each other?

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Differences between KM and IM?

• IM
• Focus on information processing (acquiring,
  classifying, storing, retrieving, accessing and
  disseminating)
• Focus on information behaviour and skills

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Differences between KM and IM?

• KM
• Focus on creating and protecting knowledge (e.g.,
  converting tacit to explicit knowledge,
  protecting explicit knowledge)
• Focus on sharing and applying knowledge (e.g.,
  ensuring best practice is transferred)
• Focus on learning behaviour and skills

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The learning organisation

• An organisation which is skilled at creating,
  acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at
  modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge
  and insights (Garvin, quoted in Mullins, 1999)
• An organisation which facilitates the learning
  of all its members and continually transforms
  itself (Pedlar, et al. Quoted in Mullins, 1999)

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Organisational learning

• the process by which the organisations
  knowledge and value base changes, leading to
  improved problem-solving ability and capacity for
  action (Probst and Buchel, 1997)
• occurs through shared insight, knowledge and
  mental models
• builds on past knowledge and experience
• depends on memory

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Four generally agreed ideas

• Organisations depend on ability to learn at the
  same pace as, or faster than, changes in their
  environment
• Learning must become a collective, not just
  individual, process
• There must be a fundamental shift towards
  double-loop thinking by an organisations members
• This gives an organisation the ability to adapt
  to and influence its environment

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Single loop learning detecting and correcting
errors in relation to operating norms
Step 1
1. sensing monitoring
Step 2
Step 3
2. comparing info against operating norms
3. taking appropriate action
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Double loop learning taking a double look at a
situation by questioning the relevance of
operating norms
2. comparing info against operating norms
Step 1
1. sensing monitoring
Step 2
Step 3
3. taking appropriate action
Step 2a
2a. questioning whether norms are appropriate
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Strategic objectives
Organisational level learning
Communities of practice
Cross-functional teams
Networks of practice
Individual learning
Organisations as learning environments
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A model of organisational knowledge creation and
sharing

• Tacit to tacit (socialisation)
• Creating tacit knowledge through shared
  experiences, e.g., shared mental models
  technical skills

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A model of organisational knowledge creation and
sharing

• Tacit to explicit (externalisation)
• Articulating tacit knowledge as explicit
  concepts, e.g., using metaphors, analogies,
  hypotheses
• Typically triggered by reflective dialogue
• A key challenge (Nonaka and Takeuchi)

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A model of organisational knowledge creation and
sharing

• Explicit to explicit (combination)
• Combining explicit knowledge from different
  sources to form new knowledge, e.g., bringing
  different concepts together in discussions,
  reports, reconfiguring information in databases

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A model of organisational knowledge creation and
sharing

• Explicit to tacit (internalisation)
• Converting explicit knowledge into tacit
  knowledge, e.g., through putting into practice
  (doing), documenting procedures or
  story-telling
• Doing these things also contributes to other
  peoples internalisation of this knowledge and
  the cycle starts again

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TACIT
TACIT
internalisation
socialisation
Knowledge Spiral (organisational learning cycle)
EXPLICIT
TACIT
externalisation
combination
EXPLICIT
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TACIT
TACIT
applying, experimenting
doing observing
Knowledge Spiral (experiential learning cycle)
EXPLICIT
TACIT
considering other perspectives
reflecting, articulating
EXPLICIT
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Building a learning organisation

• Senges 5 disciplines
• personal mastery
• mental models
• shared visions
• team learning
• systems thinking
• IM - the 6th discipline? (Choo, 1998)

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Some problems in OL

• Barriers to learning at different levels
• individual cognitive affective factors
• team structures, processes understandings
• organisational culture and politics
• OL initiatives often lack focus - must be guided
  by strategic objectives

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KM is concerned with...

• Creating and sharing knowledge
• individuals, teams, organisations
• Resources, processes, techniques to facilitate
• socialisation (sharing experience)
• externalisation (communication)
• combination (collection, codification,
  co-ordination, dissemination)
• internalisation (putting into practice)

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shared experience
best practices manuals procedures
groups, teams, personal contact, staff rotation
KM STRATEGIES
application
communication
customised info, pushed reports news, expert
locators, knowledge mapping, databases, expert
systems
virtual networking, knowledge fairs, talk
rooms, socials, mentoring, circulating war
stories
collection, codification co-ordination
dissemination
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KM encompasses...

• Managing information
• collecting, documenting, codifying, retrieving,
  disseminating, brokering...
• Exploiting information systems and networks
• intranets, CMC, groupware, databases, expert
  systems, case-based reasoning, Web...
• Managing human resources
• organisational culture structure, support for
  collective individual learning, skills
  development
• Leadership and strategic management
• strategic planning co-ordination, individual
  champions

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Involvement in KM?

• IT departments, IS product developers
• HRM professionals
• Info specialists (librarians and info managers)
• Strategic managers
• Management consultants

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Contributions from academic disciplines?

• Information science
• Computer science and information systems
• Organisational culture and learning
• Strategic management
• Business economics and finance

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Perspectives on KM

• KM is the use of technology to make information
  relevant and accessible wherever information may
  reside. To do this effectively requires the
  appropriate application of the appropriate
  technology for the appropriate situation
  (Microsoft, quoted by Brown and Duguid, 2000)

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Perspectives on KM

• KM is about enhancing the use of organisational
  knowledge through sound practices of information
  management and organisational learning
  (Broadbent, 1998)

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Review

• What is involved in organisational learning (OL)?
• How do KM, IM and OL relate to each other?

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Key points

• Knowledge requires assimilation, interpretation,
  understanding. Much knowledge is tacit rather
  than explicit
• KM is concerned with creating, sharing, applying,
  protecting knowledge - paying attention to the 4
  dimensions of the knowledge spiral
• KM is about organisational learning as well as
  info and technology
• IM is a fundamental dimension of KM

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Read Plan

• Brown and Duguid, The social life of information
• Davenport and Prusak, Working knowledge
• Nonaka and Takeuchi, The knowledge-creating
  company

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Read Plan

• Choo, Information management for the intelligent
  organisation
• This weeks seminar (Thursday) will focus on
  Brown and Duguids (2000) ideas about
  organisational learning and knowledge management