2. Agenda
What is Knowledge?
What is Knowledge?
Types of Knowledge
Types of Knowledge
What is Knowledge Management?
What is Knowledge Management?
The Essence of Knowledge Management
The Essence of Knowledge Management
Why Knowledge Management?
Why Knowledge Management?
What does leveraging "collective knowledge" involve?
What does leveraging "collective knowledge" involve?
An overview of Knowledge Processes
An overview of Knowledge Processes
3. Benefits of Knowledge to Enterprise
Benefits of Knowledge to Enterprise
HUL's Packaging Network
HUL's Packaging Network
What are the barriers for implementing Knowledge
What are the barriers for implementing Knowledge
Management
Management
The role of HR in institutionalizing KM in an organization
The role of HR in institutionalizing KM in an organization
HR processes and practices impact the knowledge sharing in a
HR processes and practices impact the knowledge sharing in a
firm
firm
How do we create a knowledge sharing culture?
How do we create a knowledge sharing culture?
HR should be the catalyst for culture change
HR should be the catalyst for culture change
5. Types of Knowledge
Explicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge
Tacit knowledge
Tacit knowledge
Formal knowledge
(Visible)
Informal knowledge
(Highly Invisible)
Available in the
form of books,
reports, audio
tapes, video tapes
etc.
Confined in the mind
of a person
Can be articulated
Difficult to articulate
6. Knowledge Management
Knowledge Driven Organization
Knowledge Driven Organization
Fully leverage the "collective knowledge" in an
Fully leverage the "collective knowledge" in an
organization
organization
Creation and sharing of knowledge
Creation and sharing of knowledge
KM processes provide a framework for connecting
KM processes provide a framework for connecting
people to people and people to information
people to people and people to information
7. KM helps the Organization to:
Build
competitive
advantage
Improve
organizational
effectiveness and
Returns
See the
opportunities
and exploit
them
Create
greater
value
8. The Essence of Knowledge
Management
The central theme of Knowledge Management is to
The central theme of Knowledge Management is to
leverage and reuse knowledge resources that already
leverage and reuse knowledge resources that already
exist in the organization so that people will seek out best
exist in the organization so that people will seek out best
practices rather than reinvent the wheel.
practices rather than reinvent the wheel.
10. What does leveraging
"collective knowledge" involve?
Working in collaborative teams, capturing and sharing
knowledge and delivering business excellence.
Developing and sharing "best practices."
Faster replication of innovations through faster movement
of knowledge through the organization.
Acquisition and sharing of "new knowledge."
Creating an environment that is comfortable to the idea of
openness, knowledge sharing, risk of failure as well as
rewards for success.
Managing organizational learning.
12. Benefits of Knowledge to Enterprise
•
Unleash new Ideas and Creativity.
•
Improve and accelerate Learning.
•
Enhance Team Collaboration & Coordination.
•
Improve the Flow of knowledge.
•
Attract, and retain motivated, loyal, and committed talent.
13. Knowledge Management Initiatives
HUL's Packaging Network
Opportunities / Challenges: Packaging in our company is
very important, both for providing protection to the
product in transit and storage as well as its contribution to
pack presentation / brand image.
How do we make sure that the collective knowledge of the
packaging professionals in the company is fully leveraged
by the packaging professionals in each business, to add
value to his business, through problem solving as well as
innovations to reduce cost and or improve functionality?
HUL’s response:
Formed a knowledge community.
The team meets once in two months for structured
knowledge sharing and monitoring progress of
implementation of the charter.
14. The basic approach and methodology adopted by the team:
Develop clarity on business expectations
Appointed sub-teams to specialize / lead in each of the
knowledge blocks.
“Knowledge workshops" with the core team and the
extended team to generate new ideas and opportunities.
Intranet application with collaborative working tools, to
facilitate knowledge sharing on a continuous basis, in
between the face to face meetings.
Results achieved:
The Packaging community has been consistently
delivering as per their charter.
To strengthening knowledge sharing behaviour through
facilitation, training and leadership.
15. The barriers for implementing
Knowledge Management?
Conceptual / mindset related issues: We should move
from “hoarding of knowledge to gain power" to "sharing of
knowledge to gain power."
Operational issues: KM should not be seen as a separate
initiative, but should be integrated into current workflow
as a more effective way to achieve business results.
16. The role of HR in institutionalizing
KM in an organization
Focus on strengthening collaborative team effort to
leverage collective knowledge of the enterprise.
Corporate Education.
Performance Management and nurturing (sharing, doing
and caring) culture.
Talent management.
Recruitment, training, skill and competency development.
New HRM roles are those of human capital steward,
knowledge facilitator, relationship builder, and rapid
deployment specialist.
17. New HRM Roles
Human capital steward
Creates an environment and culture in which
employees voluntarily contribute skills, ideas, and
energy
Human capital is not “owned” by organization
Knowledge facilitator
Procures necessary employee knowledge and skill sets
that allow information to be acquired, developed, and
disseminated
Provides a competitive advantage
Must be part of strategically designed employee
development plan
18.
Relationship builder
Develops structure, work practices, and culture that
allow individuals to work together
Develops networks that focus on strategic objectives
Rapid deployment specialist
Creates fluid and adaptable structure and systems
Global, knowledge-based economy mandates flexibility
and culture that embraces change
19. How then do HR processes and
practices impact the knowledge
sharing in a firm?
Job rotations
Networked organization
Training
Knowledge communities (Teams)
E- Learning
Culture change
20. How do we create a knowledge
sharing culture?
Realign incentive and reward program:
“The best KM practitioners reward employees for learning, sharing
and collaborating.
Step HR could implement are:
Institute Team awards
Xerox: “Eureka Hall of Fame"
Hewlett Packard Consulting: in their "vision" statement:
"Our consultants feel and act as if they have the knowledge of the
entire organization at their fingertips when they consult with
customers. We will recognize those consultants that share and
those that leverage other's knowledge and experience as most
valuable members of the HP team."
21. HR should be the catalyst for
culture change
HR will also be a key facilitator in implementing a
companywide communication of value behaviours.
Team excellence workshops and process improvement
(speed, simplicity and excellence) workouts are among
the key initiatives that will soon be launched by HR to
support the culture change.
These culture change initiatives will strongly support our
efforts to become a stronger knowledge driven company,
committed to business excellence.
Develop "Knowledge Pull“.
22. Some of the steps that HR could
take for cultural change :
Performance Development Planning (PDP);
1.Learning from experience
2.Team commitment
3.Developing others
Develop a mechanism to communicate effectively.
Collaborative effort and knowledge.
Make KM part of the Company training modules.
Hold visible knowledge sharing events.
23. Conclusion:
Transformation into knowledge driven organization
HR has a key role to play in nurturing and strengthening
knowledge management through "learning initiatives" and
"culture change initiatives.“
HR is best placed to play the role of an effective facilitator, and
give positive reinforcements for Knowledge Management .
Knowledge management has already been embraced as a source
of solutions to the problems of today’s business.
Notes de l'éditeur
So, in summary the following associations can reasonably be made:
Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when, where).
Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how).
Wisdom embodies principle, insight, moral, or archetype (why).
Now that I have categories I can get hold of, maybe I can figure out what can be managed.
An Example
This example uses a bank savings account to show how data, information, knowledge, and wisdom relate to principal, interest rate, and interest.
Data: The numbers 100 or 5%, completely out of context, are just pieces of data. Interest, principal, and interest rate, out of context, are not much more than data as each has multiple meanings which are context dependent.
Information: If I establish a bank savings account as the basis for context, then interest, principal, and interest rate become meaningful in that context with specific interpretations.
Principal is the amount of money, $100, in the savings account.
Interest rate, 5%, is the factor used by the bank to compute interest on the principal.
Knowledge: If I put $100 in my savings account, and the bank pays 5% interest yearly, then at the end of one year the bank will compute the interest of $5 and add it to my principal and I will have $105 in the bank. This pattern represents knowledge, which, when I understand it, allows me to understand how the pattern will evolve over time and the results it will produce. In understanding the pattern, I know, and what I know is knowledge. If I deposit more money in my account, I will earn more interest, while if I withdraw money from my account, I will earn less interest.
two kinds of knowledge parallel Michael Polanyi’s often-quoted distinction between explicit knowledge (sometimes referred to as formal knowledge), which can be articulated in language and transmitted among individuals, and tacit knowledge (also, informal knowledge), personal knowledge rooted in individual experience and involving personal belief, perspective, and values. (Polanyi, Michael. The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. See also Karl E. Sveiby’s online description, "Tacit Knowledge." In traditional perceptions of the role of knowledge in business organizations, tacit knowledge is often viewed as the real key to getting things done and creating new value. Not explicit knowledge. Thus we often encounter an emphasis on the "learning organization" and other approaches that stress internalization of information (through experience and action) and generation of new knowledge through managed interaction
Tacit knowledge can be shared and exchanged.
I associate the cause of my indirection with the many companies I have been associated with in the past. These companies had pursued TQM or reengineering, not in support of what they were trying to accomplish, but as ends in themselves because they simply didn't know what they were really trying to accomplish. And, since they didn't know what they were really trying to accomplish, the misdirection was actually a relief, and pursued with a passion­­it just didn't get them anywhere in particular.
According to Mike Davidson[dav96], and I agree with him, what's really important is:
Mission: What are we trying to accomplish?
Competition: How do we gain a competitive edge?
Performance: How do we deliver the results?
Change: How do we cope with change?
As such, knowledge management, and everything else for that matter, is important only to the extent that it enhances an organization's ability and capacity to deal with, and develop in, these four dimensions.
Companies derive the benefits from knowledge management. These benefits include:
Companies discover the opportunities provided by the environment and exploit them with the help of knowledge created and developed.
Companies can reduce the threats created by the environment
Derive more value and competencies from the intellectual property.
Increase productivity, profit etc.
Learn continuously and retain competencies
Ability to change and to become agent
Getting maximum from the people and information technology.
Knowledge Management is a process that, continuously and systematically, transfers knowledge from individuals and teams, who generate them, to the brain of the organisation for the benefit of the entire organisation. It is the systematic, explicit, and deliberate building, renewal, and application of knowledge to maximize an enterprise's knowledge-related effectiveness and returns from its knowledge assets.
Changes in strategic direction may result in the loss of knowledge in a specific area.
To these paraphrases of Ms. Macintosh’s observations we would add: Most of our work is information based. Organizations compete on the basis of knowledge. Products and services are increasingly complex, endowing them with a significant information component. The need for life-long learning is an inescapable reality.In brief, knowledge and information have become the medium in which business problems occur. As a result, managing knowledge represents the primary opportunity for achieving substantial savings, significant improvements in human performance, and competitive advantage.It’s not just a Fortune 500 business problem. Small companies need formal approaches to knowledge management even more, because they don’t have the market leverage, inertia, and resources that big companies do. They have to be much more flexible, more responsive, and more "right" (make better decisions) — because even small mistakes can be fatal to them.
KM provides an enabling framework to leverage "collective knowledge." When KM becomes "the way we work," it helps us deliver on strategic priorities and business goals - growth, innovation, speed of response, quality of response, faster time to market, strengthen organizational learning, protect functional and operational excellence in a dis-aggregated organizational structure.
, consisting of the packaging development managers and officers and packaging buyers of various HUL businesses.
Focus on strengthening collaborative team effort to leverage collective knowledge of the enterprise.
HR has a pivotal role to play in the KM movement. Key HR processes - Corporate Education, Performance Management and nurturing (sharing, doing and caring) culture, have a very significant role in the development of the knowledge-based enterprise.
These new HRM roles are those of human capital steward, knowledge facilitator, relationship builder, and rapid deployment specialist
The human capital steward recognises the value of intellectual capital, must ensure that human capital is available, effective and that it will grow in value; this means brokering the services of knowledge workers.
The knowledge facilitator places emphasis on learning and development, the effective management of knowledge, and creating environments conducive to knowledge creation, sharing and dissemination.
The relationship builder focuses on creating and sustaining networks and communities of practice, of joining together people in various parts of the supply chain in new ways.
The rapid deployment specialist faces the challenge of rapidly changing markets where information, business processes and organizational design can be combined in different ways to meet ever changing dynamic environments characteristic of life in the knowledge economy.
HR needs to institute a system of rewards and recognition, training and performance development practices -- activities that reinforce the discipline of sharing, documenting knowledge and reuse of others' ideas with pride to achieve business goals.
Performance Development Planning (PDP):In HUL, our PDP incorporates "knowledge - Development & Sharing” as one of the key competencies to be monitored and developed.
Some of the key competencies linked to knowledge development and sharing are:
1. Learning from experience
2. Developing others
3. Team commitment
Develop a mechanism to communicate effectively what knowledge-related behaviour is expected from the employees.
Share with all employees, success stories of collaborative effort and knowledge.
Make KM part of the Company training modules.
Hold visible knowledge sharing events like " Knowledge Fairs."