Knowledge Management An Action Research Project

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Knowledge ManagementAn Action Research Project

• Prof Hanifa Shah
• Professor of Information Systems
• Faculty of Computing, Engineering Technology
• Staffordshire University

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Introduction

• Research took place in a major UK FMCG (Fast
  Moving Consumer Goods) manufacturer and
  distributor
• Makes and distributes FMCG branded goods
• Several brands in the 20 top-selling grocery
  brands in the UK
• Holds major UK franchises
• FCMG selected as
• Little reported KM work applied to manufacturing
  firms in UK
• KM software was already being introduced in this
  company
• The FMCG organisation was already quite
  knowledgeable about the domain and its
  technologies
• What was missing was an understanding of what
  knowledge was in their own context and what was
  required of the KM technologies
• Implications for IS planning and development
  strategy needed to be understood

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FMCG KM Study Action Research Approach

• My research showed that many organisations were
  having knowledge management technologies sold
  to them without a proper understanding of what KM
  meant for them
• The KM project was formulated by me as a response
  to an actual problem that had the potential to be
  addressed by academic ideas that needed to be
  made available for practical use.
• Key aspect of the KM project was this processing
  of academic theory and terminology into ideas and
  language that was appropriate to the business
  world
• The work was conducted as an Action Research
  project which included a series of meetings,
  proposals, workshops and interviews involving a
  wide range of personnel at the FMCG organisation
  including a number of senior managers

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Action Research

• Combines in-depth theoretical ideas and learning
  with practical benefits and change for the
  organisation
• Action research characteristics
• Researchers are actively involved and collaborate
  on the project
• Researchers and practitioners intend to bring
  about change and improvements
• A conceptual framework for the research
• Susman Evereds1 form of action research
  involves
• Problem analysis
• Planning of activities to address the problems
• Executing the activities
• Evaluation of the work (reflection on what has
  been achieved)
• Capturing the learning
• The learning leads to a further, improved action
  and reflection cycle

1Susman, G I and Evered, R D (1978), An
assessment of the scientific merits of Action
Research, Administrative Science Quarterly,
23pp582-603
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An Action Research based model for
University-Industry collaboration
Incubating Virtual Enterprise Networks in
Yorkshire An Action Research Approach Loh et
al., http//portal.cetim.org/file/1/62/103_Loeh_Bo
oth_Faughy_Katzy_Thompson.pdf
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Explicit vs tacit knowledge

• Explicit knowledge can be precisely and formally
  articulated
• Codified in organisational procedures, policies,
  manuals and programs
• Tacit knowledge
• Non-articulated and cannot be manifested as rules
• Subconsciously understood and applied, difficult
  to articulate, developed from experience, beliefs
  , perspectives values
• Exists in domain experts skills, minds of
  employees, in established but uncodified
  organisational practices
• FMCG Study
• To understand
• and elicit as much of the tacit knowledge as
  possible
• To facilitate change
• To foster a knowledge management culture
• To develop KM academic ideas

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FMCG Key elements of research

• Agree project context
• Define knowledge for the project context
• Identify knowledge sequences
• Prioritise with senior managers
• Determine impact on IS development
• Recommend plan of action

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Agreeing context and definition

• Before agreeing a definition need to understand
  context
• After various discussions the context was agreed
  as
• Management of Brand X across marketing and sales
  functions for one year
• Numerous definitions of knowledge in the
  literature
• Many refer to the importance of the human element
  in creating, defining and understanding knowledge
• Definition of knowledge recognised as being
• Multi-faceted
• Variable over time
• Variable according to context
• Shareable, reflectable if articulated
• Increased in relevance by engaging users in
  defining knowledge for their context
• In practice this can be done by a facilitated
  workshop

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KM definition for FMCG study

• Context
• Management of Brand X across marketing and sales
  functions for one year
• Definition - Knowledge in the above context is
• The integration and reuse of ideas, experience ,
  skills, intuition and lessons learned that
  influences our problem solving, decision making
  and the way we work to continually create
  tangible outcomes of brand value and business
  worth

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Knowledge Sequence
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Identify Knowledge Triggers/Requirements

• This elicitation is facilitated by questions of
  the form
• What knowledge does the organisation need?
• What knowledge does it need to use better?
• What are the triggers for subsequent knowledge
  activities?
• Employees are asked to prioritise the top five
  knowledge requirements
• These top 5 are then considered further

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Identify Knowledge Resources

• For each knowledge sequence in its order of
  priority- what are the knowledge resources that
  need to be manipulated?
• The employees are asked to consider a number of
  aspects of the organisation
• Purpose, strategy, culture, structure, knowledge
  contained in computer systems, employee
  knowledge, knowledge contained in other forms eg
  books, reports

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Identify Knowledge Manipulation Activities

• For each knowledge sequence what are the
  knowledge manipulation activities that need to be
  carried out?
• HOW produced By WHOM
• WHAT produces artifact
• HOW used by WHOM WHEN
• The manipulation activity areas that need to be
  considered are
• Acquisition
• Selection
• Generation
• Internalisation
• Externalisation
• Other

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Identify Management Influences

• What are the management influences that would
  facilitate the knowledge manipulation activities?
• Leadership
• Effective management of knowledge resources
  knowledge manipulation skills
• Creation of conditions conducive to sharing
  relevant knowledge
• Coordination
• Scheduling knowledge flows and activities
• Alignment with strategy
• Development of integrated reward incentive
  systems that encourage knowledge dissemination
• Control
• Managing the provision of knowledge resources
  (quantity, quality, security, constraints)
• Measurement
• Assessing and evaluation knowledge Resources,
  manipulation skills and activities and the
  results of KM

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• Identify Environmental Influences
• What environmental influences constrain or
  facilitate the knowledge manipulation activities?
• Areas to facilitate elicitation are
• GEPSE (Government, Economic, Political, Social,
  and Economical)
• Markets
• Competitors
• Suppliers
• Customers
• Other

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FMCG Study Knowledge Target

• Improve awareness of potentially useful
  information/knowledge
• Finding relevant databases and data in databases
• Finding relevant work people have done
• How other employees can help others do their jobs
• Data that brand managers have that could be used
  to help channel marketing (eg create better sales
  presentations)

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Improve awareness of potentially useful
information/knowledge
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Implications for IS development Strategy

• Better Identify analytical capabilities of
  employees providing improved training in using
  the databases and provide better introduction to
  roles of current staff
• Improve induction programme
• Integrate systems so retailer and accounts
  systems data is consistent and finance provide
  marketing and sales with the same set of figures
• Successful integration across the organisation of
  the KM system being piloted

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KM - Learning

• Facilitation of
• Contextual definition of knowledge
• Articulation of knowledge requirements
• Prioritisation of knowledge requirements
• Summary of Knowledge ResourcesPeople, Computer
  Systems, knowledge in soft form etc
• Understanding of knowledge manipulation
  activities
• IS development strategy
• Identify problems
• Focused investment

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Collaborative research with industry - Learning

• University-industry collaboration of this nature
  requires very careful negotiation of exactly what
  is involved
• Expectations for both sides must be discussed and
  a realistic set agreed
• Project contact points in both organisations must
  be agreed
• Suitable context for study
• Eg department, group of employees related to a
  project, a group of heads of departments
• Sample of employees that are representative of
  the diversity and balance of the chosen context
• Suitable decision maker(s) at senior level
• Cooperation of participant employees for period
  of study
• Awareness of the project and its purpose must be
  cascaded down the organisational structure
• Practical support in terms of scheduling various
  interviews and workshops