KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT LIFECYCLE

Nowadays, most of organizations realize that the importance of 

managing knowledge effectively.
For doing so, they need to be always able to identify, generate, acquire, diffuse
and capture the most valuable benefits of knowledge that sets up a strategic
advantage to themselves.
It also needs to have the ability to differentiate the information, which is
digitizable, and true knowledge assets, which can only exist with in the context
of an intelligent system.
To be able to clearly understand the requirements for effectively implement 
knowledge management processes in the workplace, we may discuss the
knowledge life cycle and strategies in each stages of the cycle.
Knowledge Management Life Cycle
Knowledge has a life cycle. New knowledge is born as uncertainty thing, and it form into
shape as it is tested, matures through implementation in reality, is diffused to a growing user,
and finally becomes broadly understood and recognize as common practice. The knowledge
can process through four stages of knowledge life cycle: creation, mobilization, diffusion and
commoditization.

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1. Creation
In this initial state of knowledge formation, people cannot define or understand completely the idea
or emerging knowledge, even for the person who proposes it due to the perplexing nature of 
knowledge creation. Knowledge creation with respect to its commercial viability can be tested at the
early stage of the life-cycle. A nurturing business environment that is open to new ideas and
adaptable to changes is necessitated for creativity and experimentation. In order to create that
culture, adjustments must be made in the following areas:
Informal Knowledge System: Management must grant level of access, rewards and options to grant
the employees the privileges and responsibilities to experiment, and open access to training programs
and conferences in order to develop knowledge effectively.
Information Technology Systems: Collaboration tools and knowledge base library to be accessed,
utilized via Intranet, Extranet, Internet, Cloud and portable computing must be provided to
technology driven workforce – who have an interest in sharing the new idea at the highly specialized
forums – rather than to codify and store emerging knowledge which have little value.
Human Resources:  HR department should hire people willing to adopt the knowledge management
system and its application.
External Relationship: Contacts with the customers or external suppliers can be the stimulants for
development of new ideas in synergistic partnership.
2. Mobilization
In this stage, continuous knowledge improvement will lead to further value extraction for the
organization. Firms must mobilize knowledge internally and protect its Intellectual property’s.
The approaches are detailed as following:
1. Informal Knowledge System: Internal company networks must be created so that the
employees can transfer the knowledge through experience.
2. Information Technology Systems: The IT department will implement and maintain a
collaboration resource such that meet the needs of users’ base to create, share, access, and
commenting on subjects of interest as easily and securely as possible.
3. Human Resources: Thinkers, doers, mavericks and pragmatists are needed in order to fully
transform new ideas into valuable knowledge.
4. External Relationships: Evolving interaction fostered by close relationship with customers
and partners will be as vital.
3. Diffusion
This stage will see the actualization and commercialization of the ideas and knowledge
accumulated and improved upon earlier. So there will be a diffusion of the knowledge out of the
firms to paying customers who place a value toward the attainment of the knowledge in
question. Again, managers should be aware of following facets:
Informal Knowledge Systems: Standardized knowledge can be more easily transferred and
adopted. Thus firms must emphasize on employees training and knowledge application.
Information Technology Systems: During this state, the extensive knowledge databases will be
very helpful for the companies through the diffusion and commoditization stages. Ease of access
to information will enhance the firms’ competitive advantages.
Human Resources: Knowledge workers must realize the importance of application of
knowledge base to solving customer’s problems and concerns.
External Relationship: Great businesses derive maximum profit while satisfying the needs of
increasing customer base in a sustaining economic sector. Firms must increase their goodwill via
PR campaign to leverage brand image and product & services’ values.
4. Commoditization
In this state, the basic knowledge is already diffused completely and the firm must manage to
maintain it efficiently. There are various chances to extract value from current knowledge that
has reached commodity status. Extraction techniques are as follow:
Informal Knowledge Systems: In this state, higher grading is credited to formal 
knowledge systems. The organizations must concentrate on supplying best practices that can
add more value to well-developed processes. Moreover, the company’s systems are necessary
to encourage new ways of commercializing existing knowledge.
Information Technology Systems: Effort is dedicated to the development of querying and
retrieval techniques of existing databases. The efficient of the system is as effective to the
filtering of irrelevant data which have accrued overtime.
Human Resources: Demand for knowledge and experience is lessened at this stage, thus
contract employees can be quickly trained to perform application built upon the knowledge
base where human interaction is a necessity(ie. Out-call center, support and sales department).
 
A Learning Organization and its Characteristics
 A learning organization is the term given to an organization which facilitates the learning of
its employees so that the organization can continuously transforms itself.
Learning organization develops as a result of the pressures which are being faced by the
organizations these days for enabling them to remain competitive in the present day business
environment.
The learning organization encourages to a more interconnected way of thinking.
Such organization becomes more like a community for which employees feel a commitment
to. Employees work harder for the organization since they are committed to it.
The concept of the learning organization is commonly used for organizational success in a
dynamic global economy.
The concept of learning organization is increasingly relevant given the increasing complexity
and uncertainty of the organizational environment.
In the words of Senge: “The rate at which organizations learn may become the only
sustainable source of competitive advantage”.
An organization needs to learn to survive and prosper in changing and uncertain environment.
It needs its managers to make right decisions through skill and sound judgment. Successful
decision-making requires the organization to improve its capability of learning new behaviours
over a period of time. This learning in the organization is a fighting process in the face of swift
pace of change. In this battle managers are responsible for increasing the awareness and the
ability of the organizational employees to comprehend and manage the organization and its
environment. In this way they can make decisions that continuously secure the organization to
reach its goals.
However, most managers know how to ensure the organizational learning, but fail to
understand how to make their organization a learning organization.
Individuals and groups learn, and when conditions and systems are well designed. In a
learning organization, their learning can be shared across the organization and incorporated
into its practices, beliefs, policies, structure and culture.
The role of a leader in the learning organization is that of a designer, teacher, and steward who
can build shared vision and challenge prevailing mental models. He is responsible for building
in which the employees are continually expanding their capabilities to shape their future —
that is, leaders are responsible for learning.
The basic rationale for a learning organization is that in situations of rapid change only those
that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel. For this to happen, it is argued, the
organization needs to ‘discover how to tap employee’s commitment and capacity to learn
at all levels’
The learning organization aims to bring new ideas, debate issues, introduce innovative
methods and offer case studies to others.
Over time, the notion of “learning organization” as an idealized and apolitical ‘end-state’
rather than as a process, has increasingly gained uncritical acceptance.
The key ingredient of the learning organization is in how the organization processes its
managerial experiences. A learning organization learns from the experiences rather than
being bound by its past experiences. In the learning organization, the ability of the organization
and its managers is not measured by what it knows (that is the product of learning), but rather
by how it learns — the process of learning. Management practices encourage, recognize, and
reward with openness, systemic thinking, creativity, a sense of efficacy, and empathy.
While all the employees have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to
function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, the employees
may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. Hence the
learning organization which is always aspiring for success in its operation is to create a future
that requires a fundamental shift of mind among its employees.
The dimension that distinguishes a learning organization from more traditional organizations is
the mastery of certain basic disciplines or ‘component technologies’. The five main
characteristics that Peter Senge had identified are said to be converging to innovate a
learning organization. These are (i) Systems thinking, (ii) Personal mastery, (iii) Mental
models, (iv) Building shared vision, and (v) Team learning.