Introduction To Knowledge Management (KM) in Theory and Practice Advanced IT Management IV 15 July 2009

Chapter 1:
Introduction to Knowledge Management

(KM) in Theory and Practice
Advanced IT Management IV
15 July 2009
Chapter Objectives
• Use a framework and a clear language for

KM concepts.
• Define key KM concepts such as:
– intellectual capital, organizational learning &
memory, knowledge taxonomy, & communities
of practice using concept analysis.
Advanced IT Management 4
Chapter Objectives
• Provide an overview of the history of KM

and identify key milestones.
• Describe the key roles and responsibilities
required for KM applications.
Introduction
• This chapter provides an introduction to the

study of knowledge management (KM).
• A brief history of knowledge management
concepts is outlined, noting that much of
KM existed before the actual term came
into popular use.
Introduction
• The lack of consensus over what

constitutes a good definition of KM is
addressed, & the concept analysis
technique is described as a means of
clarifying the conceptual confusion that
persists over precisely what KM is.
• The ability to manage knowledge is
becoming increasingly more crucial in
today’s knowledge economy.
Introduction
• The creation and diffusion of knowledge

have become ever more important factors
in competitiveness.
• More and more, knowledge is being
regarded as a valuable commodity that is
embedded in products (especially high-
technology products) & in the tacit
knowledge of highly mobile employees.
Introduction
• Although knowledge is increasingly being

viewed as a commodity or an intellectual
asset, it possesses some paradoxical
characteristics that are radically different
from those of other valuable commodities.
• These knowledge characteristics include
the following:
– Use of knowledge does not consume it.
Introduction
– Transferral of knowledge does not result in

losing it.
– Knowledge is abundant, but the ability to use it
is scarce.
– Much of an organization’s valuable knowledge
walks out the door at the end of the day.
What Is Knowledge Management?
• Some typical KM objectives are to:

– Facilitate a smooth transition from those
retiring to their successors.
– Minimize loss of corporate memory due to
attrition and retirement.
– Identify critical resources and critical areas of
knowledge so that the corporation “knows what
it knows and does it well—and why.”
– Build up a toolkit of methods that can be used

with individuals, with groups, & with the org to
stem the potential loss of intellectual capital.
• There are 3 distinct perspectives on KM,
and each leads to a different extrapolation
and a different definition:
– business perspective, cognitive science or
knowledge science perspective, &
process/technology perspective.
• Business perspective:
• KM is a business activity with 2 primary
aspects:
– Treating the knowledge component of business
activities as an explicit concern of business.
– Making a direct connection btwn an org’s
intellectual assets & positive business results.
• Cognitive (knowledge) science perspective:

– Knowledge—the insights, understandings, &
practical know-how that we all possess, It is the
fundamental resource that allows us to function
intelligently.
• Process/technology perspective:
– KM is the concept under which information is turned
into actionable knowledge and made available
effortlessly in a usable form to the people who can
apply it.
• So what is KM?
• These 3 views make it both easy and difficult to
define what KM is.
– At one extreme, KM encompasses everything to do
with knowledge.
– At the other extreme, it is narrowly defined as an IT
system that dispenses organizational know-how.
• KM is in fact both of these and many more.

One of the few areas of consensus in the field
is that KM is a highly multidisciplinary field.
• KM draws upon a vast number of diverse fields
such as:
• Organizational science, Cognitive science, Linguistics
and computational linguistics, Information technologies
such as knowledge-based systems, Information & library
science, Technical writing and journalism, Anthropology
& sociology, Education & training, Storytelling &
communication studies, Collaborative technologies such
as Computer Supported Collaborative Work.
The Two Major Types of Knowledge
The Concept Analysis Technique
• Concept analysis is an established technique

used in the social sciences, such as philosophy
and education, in order to derive a “formula”
that can be used to generate definitions &
descriptive phrases for highly complex terms
• We still lack a consensus on KM–related
terms.
• These terms are complex enough to merit the
concept analysis approach.
• The reason for the lack of consensus is

because a word such as “knowledge” is
subjective, not to mention value-laden in
interpretation.
• The concept analysis approach rests on

obtaining consensus on three major
dimensions of a given concept:
– 1. A list of key attributes that must be present in the
definition, vision, or mission statement.
– 2. A list of illustrative examples.
– 3. A list of illustrative nonexamples.
• It is recommended that each org concept

analysis to clarify its understanding of what KM
means in the org’s context. This is best done in
groups.
History of Knowledge Management
History of Knowledge Management
Why Is KM Important Today?
• The major business drivers behind today’s

increased interest in & application of KM lie
in four key areas:
• 1. Globalization of business. Organizations
today are more global— multisite,
multilingual, and multicultural in nature.
• 2. Leaner organizations. We are doing

more and we are doing it faster, but we also
need to work smarter as knowledge
workers, adopting an increased pace &
workload.
• 3. “Corporate amnesia.” We are more

mobile as a workforce, which creates
problems of knowledge continuity for the
organization and places continuous
learning demands on the knowledge
worker. We no longer expect to spend our
entire work life with the same organization.
• 4. Technological advances. We are more

connected. Advances in information
technology not only have made connectivity
ubiquitous but have radically changed
expectations. We are expected to be “on” at
all times, & the turnaround time in
responding is now measured in minutes,
not weeks.
• KM provides benefits to individual employees,

to communities of practice, and to the
organization itself. This three-tiered view of KM
helps emphasize why KM is important today.
• For the individual, KM:

– Helps people do their jobs and save time through
better decision making and problem solving.
– Builds a sense of community bonds within the
organization.
– Helps people to keep up to date.
– Provides challenges and opportunities to
contribute.
• For the community of practice, KM:

– Develops professional skills.
– Promotes peer-to-peer mentoring.
– Facilitates more effective networking and
collaboration.
– Develops a professional code of ethics that
members can follow.
– Develops a common language.
• For the organization, KM:

– Helps drive strategy. And solves problems quickly.
– Diffuses best practices.
– Improves knowledge embedded in products and
services.
– Cross-fertilizes ideas and increases opportunities
for innovation.
– Enables orgs to stay ahead of the competition
better.
– Builds organizational memory.
Chapter Summary
• KM isn’t a new thing but has been

practiced in many settings for some time
now under different names.
• Knowledge is more complex than data or
information; it is subjective, often based on
experience, and highly contextual.
Chapter Summary
• There is no generally accepted definition

of KM, but most practitioners &
professionals concur that KM treats both
tacit and explicit knowledge with the
objective of adding value to the
organization.
Chapter Summary
• Each organization should define KM in

terms of its own business objectives;
concept analysis is one way of
accomplishing this.
• KM is all about applying knowledge in new,
previously unencumbered or novel
situations.
Chapter Summary
• KM has its roots in a variety of different

disciplines.
• The KM generations to date have focused
first on containers, next on communities,
and finally on the content itself.

Introduction To Knowledge Management (KM) in Theory and Practice Advanced IT Management IV 15 July 2009

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction To Knowledge Management (KM) in Theory and Practice Advanced IT Management IV 15 July 2009

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 1:

Introduction to Knowledge Management

• Use a framework and a clear language for

• Provide an overview of the history of KM

• This chapter provides an introduction to the

• The lack of consensus over what

• The creation and diffusion of knowledge

• Although knowledge is increasingly being

– Transferral of knowledge does not result in

• Some typical KM objectives are to:

– Build up a toolkit of methods that can be used

• Cognitive (knowledge) science perspective:

• KM is in fact both of these and many more.

• Concept analysis is an established technique

• The reason for the lack of consensus is

• The concept analysis approach rests on

• It is recommended that each org concept

• The major business drivers behind today’s

• 2. Leaner organizations. We are doing

• 3. “Corporate amnesia.” We are more

• 4. Technological advances. We are more

• KM provides benefits to individual employees,

• For the individual, KM:

• For the community of practice, KM:

• For the organization, KM:

• KM isn’t a new thing but has been

• There is no generally accepted definition

• Each organization should define KM in

• KM has its roots in a variety of different

You might also like