introduction to knowledge management © ed green penn state university all rights reserved

Introduction to Knowledge Management

© Ed Green Penn State University All Rights Reserved

What is Knowledge Management?

Two Views

04/19/23Introduction to Knowledge

Management 2

Knowledge Management Topics

Why is knowledge management relevant?Definitions

Knowledge Knowledge management Knowledge management

systems

Relationships (to other disciplines)Why is knowledge management valued?History of knowledge management; state of the practice

Key knowledge management driversWhat are the objectives of knowledge management?Key technologies to achieve knowledge managementKnowledge management life cycleImportant references


Management 3

Relevancy of Knowledge Management

Contemporary business success depends on knowledgeKnowledge is a business asset to be managedKnowledge is a collection of experiences gained over timeKnowledge from the past guides actions of the future


Management 4

Important Definitions

Knowledge – the sum of what is known; the set of experiences and data collected by an enterprise over timeKnowledge Management – the collective set of (multi-disciplined) actions taken by an enterprise to collect, creating, preserve, sharing, and protect organizational knowledge in furtherance of business objectivesKnowledge Management System – an organized (automated or semi-automated) set of processes and procedures to capture, store, preserve and retrieve organizational knowledge (manage the knowledge asset)


Management 5

Viewing Knowledge Management

People – increasing the ability of an individual to influence others with knowledge Process – the methods and/or techniques used by people to share knowledgeTechnology – the tools used by people to execute the processes that share knowledge

Culture – the degree to which the organizational culture supports the conduct of knowledge-based operationsStructure – the fundamental organizational structures to support knowledge sharingTechnology – the use of available capabilities to enable knowledge sharing


Management 6

Viewing Knowledge Management


Management 7

Relationship of Knowledge Management to Other

Disciplines

Cognitive scienceExpert systems/artificial intelligenceGroupwareLibrary and information scienceTechnical writing’Document/records managementDecision support systemsSemantic networks

Relational and object database management

Simulation

Organizational science

Object-oriented information modeling

Electronic publishing, hypertext, and the Internet

Full text search/retrieval

Performance management systems


Management 8

Brief History of Knowledge Management; State of the

Practice


Management 9

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

2013

• Drucker – information and knowledge as organizational resources

• Senge – “learning organization”• Leonard-Barton – knowledge management

strategy case study

• Emergence of knowledge asa competitive asset

• Professional competence in understanding knowledge

• Realization – knowledge management relied on artificialintelligence and expert systems

• Appearance of published research

• In-house knowledge management programs• Knowledge management appears in “popular

press”• 1994 – Knowledge Management Network• 1995 – Nonaka/Takeuchi The Knowledge Creating

Company: How Japanese Companies Create theDynamics of Innovation

• Management consulting practices – major firms

• High state of growth – early adopters – business and legal services

• Substantial benefits documented• Evolving business area

Value of Knowledge Management

Foster innovation; foster free flow of ideasImprove decision makingImprove customer service

Streamline response time Increase MTBF Shorten MTTR

Increase top-line (revenue) and bottom-line (profit) performance through improved time to market and improved competitive positioningReduce attrition; improve employee retention rates through by recognizing and rewarding the value of employee’s knowledgeStreamline operations and reduce costs; eliminate redundant and/or unnecessary operations


Management 10

Knowledge Management Drivers

Knowledge attrition Voluntary and involuntary turnover

Knowledge merging; communications challenge Natural evolution of business organizations Increasing globalization Conflicting knowledge models

Content management Digitally stored knowledge in naturally incompatible

media/formats Non-digitally stored materials – formal and informal; physical and

non-physical

Sheer volume of information and knowledgeElectronic learning; training requirements


Management11

Knowledge Management Constituents


Management 12

CONNECTING (PEOPLE) & PERSONALIZATION•Community & learning•Directories (expertise locators)•Findings & facilitating tools•Groupware•Response teams(HARNESS)

•Cultural support•Spaces

• Libraries & lounges• Literal• Virtual

•Travel & meeting attendance(HYPOTHESIZE)

COLLECTING (STUFF) AND CODIFICATION•Databases (external & internal•Content Architecture•Information Support Services

• Training required•Data mining best practices•Lessons learned•After action analysis(HARVEST)•Cultural support •Current awareness & databases

•Item selection for altering•Data mining best practices(HUNTING)

Directed information &Knowledge search

Exploit

Serendipity &Browsing

Explore Source: Michael E. D. Koenig, What is KM? KnowledgeManagement Explained

Knowledge Management Objectives

Improve/enhance internal collaborationImprove/enhance external collaborationCapture/record/share best practicesImprove customer relations and its managementCompetitive intelligenceBetter document and protect proprietary items

Create improved project workspaces and their managementEnhance marketing and advertising, especially on the web and other social media outletsDocument/record/enhance transactional business processesManage legal property such as patents and brands


Management 13

Knowledge Management Technologies


Management 14



WorkflowWorkflow

GroupwareGroupware

ExtranetsExtranets

IntranetsIntranets

ProjectManagement

ProjectManagement

WebConferencing

WebConferencing

DocumentManagement

DocumentManagement

DataWarehouse

DataWarehouse

DecisionsSupport

DecisionsSupport

• DBMS• OLAP

RecordsManagement

• Skype• Go to Meeting• Shared View

Knowledge Management Life Cycle


Management 15

Start

Knowledgeacquired

Knowledgeapplied

Knowledgedistributed

Organizational memory formed

• Intranet• Extranet• Groupware• Conferencing• Document

management

• Refine, organize, and store knowledge using

• Structured stores• Databases• Data warehouses• File formats

• Education• Training programs• Automated systems• Expert networks

• Expert systems• Decision support systems

Workflow Project Management

Knowledge Management Complexities


Management 16

Types of Knowledge

Explicit – information or knowledge that is set out in tangible form (physical)Implicit – information or knowledge that is not set out in tangible form but could be made explicit (derivable)Tacit – information or knowledge that would be extremely difficult (operationally) to make explicit (implied)


Management 17

Operational Constituents of Knowledge Management

Enterprise data and information available to authorized members

Portals Content Management Systems (CMS)

Lessons Learned databases/systems Operational experiences Capture knowledge embedded in persons; make explicit

Expertise Locators – “yellow pages” or “411.com” directory

Where is the knowledge, data, information, and/or expertise to be found?

Communities of practice – teams dedicated to establishing the management of enterprise knowledge


Management 18

Knowledge Management – Stages of Development

First stage – information technology Evolution of capabilities

Software Hardware

Emergence of the InternetSecond stage – human resources and corporate culture

Changing traditional methods and processes Engaging employees

Third stage – taxonomy and content management Structure development Collecting knowledge/data/information (facts) Populating the structure with collected facts


Management 19

Initial References

http://www.unc.edu/~sunnyliu/inls258/Introduction_to_Knowledge_Management.htmlhttp://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/What-Is-.../What-is-KM-Knowledge-Management-Explained-82405.aspxhttp://searchdomino.techtarget.com/definition/knowledge-management


Management 20

introduction to knowledge management © ed green penn state university all rights reserved

Documents

organizational knowledge

knowledge asset

knowledge technology

knowledge culture

time knowledge management

knowledge management

knowledge management

knowledge process