Download KM Enabling Technologies

Knowledge Management –
Enabling technologies
ICT support to KM
Types of knowledge enabling technologies
3Cs of Knowledge Enabling Technologies
References
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According to Despres and Chauvel (2000), KM is primarily a people and process issue,
while information and communication technologies (ICT) should be used as a support.
Technology can support and enable knowledge management in two main ways:
•
•
It can provide the means for people to organise, store and access explicit
knowledge and information, such as in electronic libraries or best practices
databases.
It can help to connect people with people so that they can share tacit knowledge,
such as through white pages, groupware or video conferencing.
Davenport’s rule of thumb: your investment in technology in terms of both cost and effort
should stay under one third of the total knowledge management effort.
Extracted from KPMG (1998)
KPMG (1998) identified the implemented KM technological infrastructure as being
internet, intranet, document management systems, groupware, data warehousing/mining,
decision support and extranet.
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Extracted from Alavi and Leidner (2001) pg.125
Three common applications can be found (1) coding and sharing of best practices, (2)
creating corporate knowledge directories, and (3) creating knowledge networks (Alavi
and Leidner 2001). ICT support KM processes with the use of platform technologies
(Intranet, groupware and communication technologies) and others (data mining, learning
tools, electronic bulletin boards, knowledge repositories, databases, discussion forums,
knowledge directories, expert systems and workflow systems).
Extracted from Marwick (2001) pg.816
Some examples of technologies that may be applied to facilitate the SECI knowledge
conversion processes.
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Knowledge-enabling technologies
Groupware
Intranets
Connecting people with people: Collaborative tools
Email
Discussion boards
Videoconferencing
Project support tools
Workflow tools
E-learning tools
Virtual working tools
Connecting people with information: Managing content
Taxonomies
Thesauri
Search engines
Portals
Knowledge creation technologies
Data mining
Information visualisation
Decision trees
Root cause analysis
Compiled from http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/knowledge_management/km2/technology.asp
Extracted from Edwards et al. (2005) pg.114
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Extracted from Edwards et al. (2005) pg.122
Edwards et al. (2005) categorised KM enabling technologies as artificial intelligence
based and conventional.
3Cs of Knowledge Enabling Technologies
Borbely (2001) proposed a three Cs’ framework in terms of ways that ICT will support
KM – Connect, Create and Collaborate, and Contextualise. Connect: Ensures people in
the organisation get fundamental access to knowledge content and exchange of
information (e.g. Browser, XML, HTML, Internet, Semantic Web, World Wide Web).
Create and collaborate: Facilitates the creation and externalisation of both tacit and
explicit knowledge for interaction of ideas, information and data in the organisation (e.g.
Awareness, Calendar, Chat, Discussion groups/forums, E-mail, E-project room, Portal,
Real-time collaboration, Polling/Electronic survey). Contextualise: Encodes information
and/or determine its relationship to rules and conditions of the organisation (e.g. Agents,
Artificial intelligence, Case-based reasoning, Data mining, Expert systems, Knowledge
map, Neural network, Personalisation).
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Extracted from Borbely (2001)
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Tsui (2000) made similar proposals with five common KM applications and their
respective supporting technical KM components.
Application
Product development
Process improvement
Key challenges
·
Consolidate & share best
practices
·
Strategic Research
·
Competitive analyses
·
·
Expertise location
Collaborations & workflow
·
Benchmarking
E-project management ·
Expertise location
·
Technical KM components
Best practice database
·
Search
·
People finder system
·
Corporate memory
·
Knowledge maps
·
Measurement & tracking
system
·
·
Knowledge communities
People finder system
·
Best practice, tools,
methodology and lessons learnt
·
Project planning & reporting databases
templates
·
CBR system to retrieve past
project artefacts
·
Experience sharing
·
Communications
Mergers & acquisitions ·
Assemble a strong &
credible integration team
·
Make key personnel
decisions swiftly
·
Standardised method to
access information & assess value
of the acquired organisation
·
Human resources
·
·
Knowledge communities
People finder system
·
Knowledge communities
·
Best practice, methodology
and lessons learnt databases
·
Search
·
Due-diligence work products
Communications
·
Expertise location
·
Measurement & reporting
system
·
People finder system
·
Staff development
·
Staff competency database
·
E-learning
·
Online learning system
·
Performance review
·
Measurement & tracking
system
Extracted from Tsui (2000) pg.9
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References
Alavi, M. and Leidner, D.E. (2001), ‘Knowledge management and knowledge
management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues’, MIS Quarterly,
25.1, 107-136.
Borbely, J. (2001), ‘Knowledge Management Technologies in HR: where we are and
where we’re heading’, The Next Frontier: Technology and Total Rewards,
September, 30 - 34.
Despres, C., and D. Chauvel. (2000), Knowledge Horizons: The Present and the Promise
of Knowledge Management, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Edwards, J.S., Shaw, D. and Collier, P.M. (2005), ‘Knowledge management systems:
finding a way with technology’, Journal of Knowledge Management, 9.1, 113-125.
http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/knowledge_management/km2/technology.asp
KPMG (1998), Knowledge Management: A practical imperative for business, London:
KPMG Management Consulting.
Marwick, A.D. (2001), ‘Knowledge management technology’, IBM Systems Journal,
40.4, 814 – 830.
Tsui, E. (2000), Exploring the KM toolbox. InsideKnowledge, 4, no. 2: 9p.
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