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I think knowledge management is really all about one thing. And that is not gaining knowledge from other companies, or job security, or even the most useful way to run a meeting. It is about taking the knowledge you have or may gain and use it most efficiently for competitive advantage. The world of technology is quickly changing around us. But having the most complicated system isnt necessarily the most useful. Are you just trying to get the smartest people to use it? Like we talked about in class today, the most diverse groups will challenge each other the most, creating the best ideas. If everyone thinks in a group think, no one is stepping outside the box to take risks that may benefit a company. Technolofy is about advancement, but it doesnt have to be through computers. Technology can be through ideas. Efficiency is making things simple and effective, getting the most results from the least amount of work. So knowledge management is really about ways we can save time. Instead of getting wrapped up in overloads of knowledge information, lets refine ideas, challenge what we know, and facilitate ourselves to become efficient workers.
http://www.crmadvocate.com/required/knova080805.pdf
This site gives ten principles to follow in order to achieve KM success. They are basically the same concepts we discussed in class. First realize its more than just a technology but a discipline for people. It needs to be supported by more than a single individual and motivated from the top. If people arent used to sharing, then management plans need to be rearranged in order to appease new KM structures. Sensativity towards organizational culture is crucial. KM cannot succeed if it becomes a distraction or burden. Information needs to stay current and to the point, but employees should not be discouraged if the system is challenging or too involved. Part of Km is consistent updates. Technology changes, just as information and knowledge is created, modernized, used, and passed along, and sometimes ‘thrown out’. Making a KM system part of a daily routine by incorporating it into existing systems or making it a required job task will get people involved in it as they see it with higher purpose. And train people to use it, not just once, but continually as it changes. The easier and quicker it is to use, the more people will find it a useful and efficient source. If the purpose of KM is to be the most efficient and gain knowledge for competitive advantage, what good is a system that wastes time on technological mishaps?
Today’s literature research presentation over effective ways to implement knowledge management and communities of practice in businesses targets many of the problems brought up by the ‘nonsense of KM’ article. One of the biggest challenges is getting people to trust the system. Knowing where and who their knowledge is going to, and its professional use will help people in their confidence to share. One of the 14 ways to get successfull sharing was having direct request to do so from supieriors, bosses, or other companies/co-workers. Knowing that the effort and time taken to ’share’ will be recognized and looked upon positively will be encouraging. It may also give opportunity for promotion and positive feedbacks and evaluations which help the employees. Also have specific questions that are straight forward and not ongoing will cut down on the time it takes to answer. The person providing information won’t have to guess what the question they are being asked is. They can provide direct answers that will also cut out possibilities of several follow up questions. Having direct access to these questions will also allow people to save time searching trough information bases. Time and incentives are as influencial in knowledge sharing as trust of job security and accountability. Addressing directly the problems involved and offering solutions such as the presentation today did, will help in building a stronger knowledge base and community of practice/sharing.
Almost all of the articles we have read or looked over in class, and all of the presentations have emphasized the importance of having complete and consistent support for knowledge sharing, management, distribution from top management. Top management tends to have this influence due to their power to give rewards/punishments. It gives employees incentives to use the system, and also and obligation as incorporating it as a job task. However, if a company was able to provide the resources for knowledge sharing to its employees and let them take it, or leave it, from there, it may turn out to be more successful. In this case it is made optional so those that are using it are willing and wanting to take the time to learn to use the technology and utilize the resources and information it provides. Those employees that are not in favor, comfortable with the technology, or don’t have time for KM can find their own methods to get work done. Managers would provide the same rewards for getting work done effiently and effectively, but have it independent of methods used.
My MAIN article comes from the Business & Finance Magazine (journal) : and is titled “Hidden Streams of knowledge”
(June 1, 2007). Hidden Streams of Knowledge. March 4, 2008. http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3199533803&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3199533810&cisb=22_T3199533809&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&selRCNodeID=34&nodeStateId=411en_US,1&docsInCategory=125&csi=279315&docNo=24.
This article talks about the importance of people, relationships, and communication over technology when it comes to KM. Technologies often fail because people do not want to, or don’t know how to work with them. It discusses how often times it is more difficult to come up with the right question for a problem than an anwer, and how to apply KM.
Source 2 (blog post):
(June 2007). Implimenting Knowledge Management: Practical Approach. March 4, 2008. http://kmlearning.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html.
This article is once again about the importance of asking the right questions in order to gather the most useful information for knowledge management and sharing. Application of KM is unique to every business. They have to identify, organize, transform, and measure the goals and benefits.
Source 3 (Journal) :
Thomas,J.C., W. A. Kellogg, and T. Erikson. (August 6, 2001). The Knowledge Management Puzzle: Human and Social Factors in Knowledge Management. Volume 40. March 4, 2008. http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj/404/thomas.html.
Journal talks about problems with capturing, organizing, and retrieveing information, saying KM is an issue of getting ‘the right information to the right people at the right time’. It also ignores cognitive and social techniques by being technologically based and pre-provided thought.
The articles I am using for the Literature Article project are all related to the problems with knowledge management and making it attractice and worthwhile to individuals. Because it is based in numbers, facts, and figures, and by technology, it tends to veer focus away from individuals. It is more important to connect the people within a company or field and allow them to successfully share information with each other. If they can see who it is going to, they may be more likely to help the cause. Also technological KM databases do not foster cognitive or social growth. If a process or idea that has worked in the past is laid out for someone already, they won’t use their own creativity and make cognitive developement but just adapt the process used by someone previous to themself. Also, if people can access something on their computer, they may exclude the idea of going to co-workers. While this may be time beneficial, so that people can focus on their own work, it does not open up ideas that may occur from teamwork and new innovative ideas that may have been better than the previous ones. Knowledge management is also very unique company to company, even to each department at times, and if someone has used it in the past, and then makes a move, the past experience may not be as helpful as skills that would have been formed by working with others, collaborative thinking, or cognitive development on jobs, projects, etc. It is better to use KM as a guide for sources of information or simple techniques, and train people to do the thinking, researching, team building, and creativity. This will allow people to run the company instead of a database, and will build skills and relationships to promote higher achievement.
As a faciliatator for business meetings, it is important to consider not only how to fix dysfunctional meetings, but as we talked about in class, why they are occuring. What are the key issues? It is possible that it goes beyond the participants being unprepared and lacking stimulation or interest for the topic. How many meetings are being held to allow people to think they have influence in decisions, that are pointless? Before the meeting begins, consider product. If it is clear that the outcome(s) of the meeting will be implimented an carried out, and may effect the success of individual, then participants will be more likely to join in for the cause. In addition, it may be useful to give the participants an ‘assignment’ so to say previous to coming to the meeting. In this way they can be prepared and understand (at least part of the) purpose of the meeting. They won’t be using their time to think about how to participate or what to say if put on the spot, but listening to the work and discussion of the other group members. Their input then will be thought out and ready for last minute improvements or suggestions instead of a scrap idea that has to be brought together by ‘x’ number of different people and opinions. Focusing on purpose and product are key to maintaning a productive meeting and steering away from dysfunctional behaviors.
Because there is not a ’set is stone’ definition of knowledge management, it can be interpretted in many ways. It also includes a broad scope of things from facilitating meetings, sharing past knowledge with current workers, technological management etc. So how do we define and transform information, which accounts for statistics, facts, numbers, theories, into knowledge?; applied experience product, routine, and organizational processes. When first tapping into the company wide database or international websharing site, it is information that we are trying to get our hands on. ‘Give me what you found so that I can do my own job, quicker, better’. Knowledge management is actually what we do with it from there. Once we take the successful methods or programs that have been used into consideration, we apply them, and make them our own success, then we have used “knowledge management”. With this in mind, it makes me think that it is then just as important to do your own research on the job, find your methods of success and efficiency in order to improve yourself. Because…knowledge is experience, knowledge is power.
Sales people today are some of the most overloaded positions for knowledge management. They have information coming to them not only about their market product, but about how to establish customer trust and credibility, to keep up with competitors, use sale strategies, and promote their product. Consequently, while a salesperson is trying to make a (quick) sale, they are likely to neglect the detail databases and go straight to the most experienced source, whether a co-worker or manager, or even to a book or pamphlet intended to provide information to customers. Also by going to a co-worker, they may end up lowering chances of making a strong sale or establishing a relationship with that custom (especially in commision circumstances) because the business is competitive even within a single company. In short, sales people need to know quick direct information on their product and be able to answer customer questions in a user-friendly language. How in depth they go into knowledge research of a product is not the only factor to sale outcome; but how personable and influencial they are as well. These qualities may go beyond knowlede management databases, but be personal ability and skill.
Case 5 in the ‘Knowledge Management Case Book’ compares the creation of new knowledge and the transfer of existing knowledge within a (Siemens) company. Creating new knowledge can create an overabundance of knowledge, reiterate original concepts, and cause narrow-mindedness. Transferring knowledge has benefits and barriers to consider as well but definitely proves to be a plausible option.
Transfer of knowledge through Best Practice Sharing systems aims to turn the traditional methods of supply and demand that follow the Law of Diminishing Returns, into increasing returns. Instead of running out of supply, the knowledge base continues to grow with each case. Creating and setting up a BPS system comes with high up front costs of IT expenses, hiring an outside team to set up and collaborate the knowledge, advertising and promoting it to the company and more. However, once it becomes a typical part of an employee’s agenda it is basically free.
Getting people to trust and use the system is another challenge (Siemens) faces in establishing the BPS database. Employees feel threatened that they won’t know what to post, what do others need to know, and what defines “best”? They also don’t want to lose job security by sharing all of their own knowledge and reducing the companies need for their continual input. It is even challenging to promote employees to participate in the database regularly because they may not see the benefits; why should they spend time on something that doesn’t give rewards or promotions instead of doing other work?
However once the Best Practice Sharing is developed in a company it can reduce costs, increase business opportunities, optimizes business processes, and make quality improvements. It shares the best, and most efficient and effective ways to do something, to complete a task and reach goals.
Although the system and databases are organized and follow a structure developed and assimilated to a company, the culture within levels of a company can differ in using the system and still be successful. The program is developed in order to best suit the efficiency needs of each level. And studies suggest that over 80% of managers make “Best Practice Sharing” a main objective for these reasons.
Best Practice Sharing allows a company to advance by installing the system, mobilizing (employees), collecting and sharing data, and communicating and promoting the project within the company and through sponsorship. Once a company has accomplished these things it is well on its way to global- sharing, connecting people maximizing work potential through the use of Best Practice Sharing.
knowledge management is a way to organize ideas, create, and share knowledge. It gathers the tacit knowledge of employers and outside imformation from other companies, society, economy, politics, and so on into productive forms for advancement for the company. It is important for KM to have/set goals for the company, groups, and individuals as it is also a practice of how to most efficiently manage information. Companies want to be able to maintain information that goes beyond fact but into contacts, sales approaches, methods of best working with other companies and more. There are job and departments created just for the area of KM, in order to organize and facilitate the gained knowledge. KM can be beneficial to all companies if it is used accurately and respected by the employees/staff of the Firm.
