Download Knowledge Management (INSY 521)

Knowledge Management (INSY
521)
By
Dr. Temtim Assefa
School of Information Science
Addis Ababa University
2015
2
Course Objective
• Explain basic concepts in the field of knowledge
management
• explain historical and societal challenges that
lead for the development of KM discipline
• understand the different theories, principles and
approaches used to in knowledge management
• Identify the different knowledge taxonomies
• describe knowledge management cycles
3
Course Objective
• Identify the different knowledge management
tools
• Able to explain knowledge acquisition methods
such as from domain experts
• Develop basic skills to analyze and design a KMS
• Develop a skill to manage a KMS within the
organization
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 1: Introduction to Knowledge Management
• Knowledge Management Definition?
• Alternative views of knowledge
• Different types of knowledge
• Location of knowledge
• Forces driving knowledge management
• Knowledge management systems
5
Knowledge
Software
Capability
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What is KM?
• Knowledge management (KM) is a
process that helps organizations identify,
select, organize, disseminate, and transfer
important information and expertise that are
part of the organization’s memory and that
typically reside within the organization in an
unstructured manner.
• It is a process through which organizations
generate value from their intellectual property
and knowledge-based assets
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KM?
• KM involves the creation, dissemination, and
utilization of knowledge
• It is also viewed as the intersection between
People, Processes and Technology
• The information technologies that together
make knowledge management available
throughout an organization are referred to as a
knowledge management system (KMS).
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Knowledge Management Components
Knowledge
management
components, cycles
and technologies
Components
• People
• Strategies
• Processes
• Metrics
Cycles:
Knowledge
creation,
capturing, storing,
disseminating,
applying and
evaluating
Technologies:
Expert systems
Collaboration
Training
Web
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Alternative Views of Knowledge
• There is interchangeable use of the terms data,
information and knowledge
• These concepts are not the same
• Data is a raw facts on any thing
▫ Example - Addis Ababa, 1000, 1.8cm
• Information is
▫ a processed data meaningful to the user
▫ A relationship between data sets
▫ Example
 Tigist’s height is 1.8 cm
 The Programmer salary is 2000 birr
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Alternative views …
•
Information can have different meanings
in different contexts
▫
▫
•
40 degrees can have different meanings.
Is the context Medical, Geographical or Technical?
Example
▫
▫
40 deg Celsius (is a sign of fever in Medicine);
40 deg Angle (has a shape like V in Geometry)
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Knowledge
• Knowledge is information combined with
experience, interpretation and reflection of an
individual
• Knowledge is a justified personal belief.
▫ Knowledge is relative to the knower
▫ More structured information in the human mind
• A capability to apply information
• Example
 The programmer salary is small, I will not be a
programmer
• Actionable information
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Wisdom
• It is Knowledge that is combined with Learning,
Insight, Intuition and Judgmental abilities.
• Almost exclusive to our own minds.
• An Ability to make wise decisions and
judgment using one’s knowledge
• Example – King Solomon’s decision for two
mothers
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Data to Knowledge Hierarchy
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
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From Facts to Wisdom
one example of the hierarchy
Volume
Completeness
Objectivity
Less is
Value
More
Structure
Wisdom
Knowledge
Intelligence
Information
Facts
Subjectivity
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Data
Knowledge
Information
Simple observations
of the world:
•Easily captured
•Easily structured
•Easily transferred
•Compact,
quantifiable
Data with relevance
and purpose:
•Requires unit of
analysis
•Needs consensus on
meaning
•Human mediation
necessary
•Often garbled in
transmission
Valuable information
from the human mind:
includes reflection,
synthesis, context
•Hard to capture
electronically
•Hard to structure
•Often tacit
•Hard to transfer
•Highly personal to
the source
More human contribution
Greater value
The relationships between data, information, and knowledge.
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Types of Knowledge
• There are different classification of knowledge
• Example
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Know how and know what
Procedural and declarative knowledge
Tacit and explicit
Tacit, implicit and explicit
Etc
• Commonly knowledge is classified as tacit and
explicit knowledge
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Tacit versus Explicit knowledge
Explicit
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
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Tacit Knowledge
•
•
•
•
A knowledge that is embedded with the knower
Highly contextual knowledge
Unstructured as compared to explicit knowledge
Difficult to verbalize and codify on knowledge
repositories
• It contains the largest part of our knowledge
• As Polanyi Said “We know more than we can
say”
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Explicit knowledge
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge that can be verbalized and codified
Knowledge that we found in books, databases
Structured compared to tacit knowledge
Easy to store in databases and documents
It is easily accessible to every one
Knowledge that is detached from the Knower
Some Researcher label it as Information
The Issue is not resolved among philosophers
and scholars
• The smaller part of our knowledge
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Location of knowledge
• Knowledge is classified as individual, group and
organizational knowledge by possession
• Individual knowledge is knowledge created and
possessed by individuals
• It is the base for other categories of knowledge
• It is more of personal belief which may or may
not be accepted by the group and the
organization
• More of tacit type knowledge
• Emanates from experience by doing tasks
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Location … Group Knowledge
• Individual knowledge shared among groups
• Group knowledge is a relationship among individuals
• Constructed through collective actions and owned by all
members of the group.
• Dialog is the main form of group knowledge creation
• Community of Practices (CoP) are examples of groups
that create and possess group knowledge in an
organization
• Knowledge created in the group is largely tacit
knowledge and “its presence is reflected by an ability to
collaborate effectively” (De Long and Fahey, 2000)
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Location …. Organizational knowledge
• Organization knowledge is knowledge that is
institutionalized as organizations procedures, rules
and policies
• Emerges from individual or group knowledge
• Largely explicit knowledge and easily accessible to
anyone
• The tacit type of organization knowledge is often
embedded in work processes which are hard to
imitate by other organizations
• Organizations knowledge is also internalized by
individuals so that they behave according to the
organizations norms and standards
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Factors to consider in Knowledge
Management
• Information and knowledge have become the
fields in which businesses compete.
• Several important factors include:
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Sharing Best Practice
Globalization
Rapid Change
Downsizing
Managing Information and Communication Overload
Knowledge Embedded in Products
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
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Sharing Best Practices
• Sharing best practices means leveraging the
knowledge gained by a subset of the
organization.
• Increasingly important in organizations who
depend on applying their expertise such as
accounting, consulting and training firms.
• KM systems capture best practices to
disseminate their experience within the firm.
• Problems often arise from employees who may
be reluctant to share their knowledge (managers
must encourage and reward open sharing).
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Globalization
• Historically three factors, land, labor and
capital were the key to economic success
• Knowledge has become a fourth factor.
• Low international labor costs are driving
globalization (as is telecom) and pushing
companies that fail to take part out of business.
• Knowledge has become the key resource for any
organization (government, financial, production,
etc.).
• Lastly, knowledge is portable and must be
managed carefully.
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Other factors
• Rapid change: firms must be nimble and adaptive to
compete
• Downsizing: sometimes the wrong people get fired
when creating a leaner organization
• Managing Info Overload: data must be categorized
in some manner if it is to be useful rather than
overwhelming
• Knowledge Embedded in Products: the
intangibles that add the most value to goods and services
are becoming increasingly knowledge-based
• Sustainable Competitive Advantage: KM is the
way to do this. Shorter innovation life cycles keep
companies ahead of the competition.
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Sustainable Competitive
Advantage
•Shorter life-cycle of innovation
•Knowledge as an infinite resource
•Direct bottom-line returns
•Inability to assimilate knowledge
•Data organization and storage
is needed
Sharing Best Practices
•Avoid “ reinventing the wheel”
•Build on previous work
Downsizing
•Loss of knowledge
•Portability of workers
•Lack of time and resources
for knowledge acquisition
Managing Overload
Globalization
Why Manage
Knowledge?
•Decreased cycle times
•Increased competitive pressures
•Global access to knowledge
•Adapting to local conditions
Embedded Knowledge
Rapid Change
•Smart products
•Blurring of distinction between
service and manufacturing firms
•Value-added through intangibles
•Avoid obsolescence
•Build on previous work
•Streamline processes
•Sense and respond to change
Reasons for Managing Knowledge.
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Top Reason’s for Adopting KM
1. Creating easy access and visibility to
organizational knowledge
2. retaining expertise of personnel,
3. increasing customer satisfaction,
4. improving profits or increasing revenues. KM
is clearly suited to capturing both internal
(employees’) and external (customers’)
knowledge.
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Knowledge Management Systems
• The term Knowledge management
started to be used in 1980s
• However activities were practiced before that
by Librarians, philosophers, teachers, and
writers
• Denning (2000) relates how from
▫ “time immemorial, the elder, the traditional
healer and the midwife in the village have been
the living repositories of distilled experience in
the life of the community”
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KMS …
• The use of leading-edge information technologies
(e.g., Web-based conferencing) to support KM
mechanisms enables dramatic improvement in KM.
• Knowledge management mechanisms are
organizational or structural means used to promote
knowledge management.
• knowledge management systems (KMS): the
synergy between latest technologies and
social/structural mechanisms
•
Technology + Social Mechanisms = KMS
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Review questions
•
•
•
•
What is knowledge?
What is knowledge management?
Explain the difference between KM and KMS?
What is the driving force for adopting KM
solutions
• What are the main reasons for adopting KM in
the organizations