Knowledge management concepts and applications

Knowledge Management - Trial and Error

Trial and Error

Taming an Unprofitable Mass

Knowledge Management Basis

Tackling Details

Moving Forward

On Demand Value

Hot Wash Recommended

Trial and Error

Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass,

The mere materials with which wisdom builds,

Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place,

Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich.

Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;

Wisdom is humble that he knows no more." (Cowper 1996)

It's trial and error. You just learn by experience and every child is different and every experience is different and I think you learn better tools to make the flow a little easier for both of you." Garrahy, Cothran & Kulinna (2005) report that Jamie, the "expert" sharing this bit of wisdom related to "knowledge management" is reportedly 7-years-old. "Anna (6 years, suburban) agreed: 'It's trial and error method the first couple of years. I had some problems and I would try and fail and if it didn't work out, you tried something else.' (Ibid) Today's titanic mountains of information or knowledge, similar to knowledge which Cowper contends to be "a rude unprofitable mass," need a virtuoso to tame or manage it into viable, vital productive product. Consequently numerous methods of "knowledge management" have, through the process of trail and error, been created.

The necessity of learning from failure, as well as, a willingness to learn contributes to management knowledge growth. John (20 years) related what an intitial teaching experience taught him, "I had all the activities lined up," he said. "... But what I neglected to do was to have an opening [set induction]. They came in the door and they saw all this stuff laid out [equipment] and they just ignored me." (Ibid)

John learned he needed to establish what students entering his classroom are to do when they step into his classroom. This unsettling experience, he said, stimulated his awareness that management is vital.

In a similar sense, Knowledge management, an ongoing discipline that centers and encircles the creation of business performance improvements, serves as a standard for any organization's or businesses' success. As this paper assesses concepts contributing to effective knowledge management, it also Taming an Unprofitable Mass According to Stoll (2004), potential positive benefits obtained from implementing knowledge-management system to tame unprofitable masses of information include:

Improved organization and utilization of institutional or business knowledge

Reduction in work duplication;

Decreased staff time used to search for information;

More proficient customer service to customers and/or members;

Additional time to invest in improving customer/member services. (Stoll 2004)

Amar (2002, p. xi) focuses on understanding differences that distinguish knowledge workers from others in the workforce and determine.".. how best to manage them and the organizations -- small or large -- in which they work so that such organizations can get the most out of them." Amar (Ibid) notes that the study of knowledge management study is still in its infancy. Just as new practices and communication techniques accompany the birth of a new born, numerous new terms; definitions/explanations and abbreviations, have been bequeathed to society by the "new kid on the block," known as knowledge management.

E-mail first popularized this letter 'E,' which represents "electronic," which as a prefix, indicates a direct or indirect connection with "knowledge, electronics, and automation in organization, in particular the Internet or Web." (Ibid)

E-Business, synonymous with e-commerce (more popular in Europe), reflects a compilation of computer activities used to develop/create, promote, and market goods/service over the Internet. (Ibid, p. 241) Amar (p. 242) clarifies the following "knowledgeable" terms:

Knowledge Employees - Employees of any organization whose primary job responsibilities involve knowledge work.

Knowledge Organization - An organization whose primary input is knowledge and/or whose primary output is knowledge. This organization derives its revenue primarily through the activities described by knowledge work. (See definition of Knowledge Work.)

Knowledge Organization - Leadership - The art of helping employees of knowledge organizations establish and realize their personal goals and in the process realize their organizational goals, since they have to have significant congruence in knowledge organizations.

Knowledge Organization - Management Managers of a knowledge organization whose primary job functions include planning and organizing of knowledge work and controlling and leading of knowledge employees.

Knowledge Project - A knowledge project is any activity or group of activities that is not performed in a knowledge organization on a regular basis, or it is the work or a segment of work that is organized as the manager deems fit. The term project may or may not be taken in the same sense as it is taken in project management.

Knowledge Scheduling - A positive scheduling system primarily recommended for knowledge organizations that gives a lot of latitude to employees and objectively lets them set times when they start or stop working.

Knowledge Widget - Products or services, such as electronic, computer, or conventional, that come from a knowledge organization are termed knowledge widgets.

Knowledge Work - Working to tame, apply, use, and develop applications with or without electronic computers and technology to bring out applications -- products and services -- is knowledge work. It includes the science, technology, arts, information technology, and Internet-related activities, such as research and development, engineering, sciences, technology, the arts, and all other creative pursuits in organizations. Knowledge work has very little or no structure and mostly cannot be standardized, or predesigned, especially by the ones who are not going to be the actual doers of the work. Each individual knowledge work should be unique and require the ingenuity of the doer in its accomplishment.

Knowledge Work Module - A knowledge work module is a connected piece of a complex whole that in some known way is complete, simple, and independent but embodies all the requisite detail for its completeness."

Stone & Maxwell (2005, p. xviii) defined the following abbreviations related to Knowledge management, which include the following:

KM: Knowledge Management

KNETs: Knowledge Network(s)

KS: Knowledge Sharing

In theory, networks constitute a vital role to help create a "research rich, inclusive and accountable" knowledge management policy process. The virtues of networks, however, are not straightforward and access can be unequal and problematic with excessive costs high even with well-funded and well-meaning initiatives like those taken by the World Bank: Consequently, development agencies and actors to think about knowledge management in new ways. (Stone & Maxwell 2005, p. 1) The global knowledge networks, or KNETs,.".. incorporate professional bodies, academic research groups and scientific communities that organize (sic) around a special subject matter or issue." (Ibid, p. 11) Being included in such networks requires official and/or professional expertise recognition of expertise, and other validation of scholarly and scientific credibility." These networks seek to.".. create and advance knowledge as well as to share, spread, and, in some cases, use that knowledge to inform policy and apply to practice." (Ibid)

Knowledge Management Basis

To begin or start anything, one needs to know and obtain the basics. Stoll (2004) notes the basis for a business or organization, initially utilizing knowledge management to include establishing a "staff-expert locator," with.".. A searchable online knowledge map that identifies staff areas of expertise, giving staff the ability to find the needed knowledge faster." Another basic need for knowledge management is to "facilitate communities of practice," including development of communication, as well as, knowledge-sharing enhancements for member networking groups by developing design teams for each practice population, utilizing an in-house, online tool. Select group members constitute each design team who develop relevant conversation topics for meetings and facilitate discussions online between meetings. "The tool will provide members with forums (discussion boards), an online calendar of events, the ability to upload and download files, polling capabilities, an updatable member roster, and an area to share useful links." Creating a searchable online, knowledge database is a final basic initial component. This base will store knowledge that staff and customers/members enter particular topics of interest. It is organized to permit staff and customers/members to effortlessly access needed information.

Gatekeepers," those who help manage the information flow, have a unique responsibility when it comes to knowledge and ideas. Stone & Maxwell (2005, p. 11) discussed differences related to which supply side knowledge management concerns evolve from. When knowledge utilization concerns evolve from the supply side, they argue, necessary approaches to improve research communication and dissemination could involve initiatives such.".. As the establishment of research reporting services (on web-sites and traditional media); encouraging training activities for researchers, such as media workshops, exercises in public speaking, or training in how to write policy briefs. (Ibid) When research use concerns are located on the demand side, however, strategies may better.".. focus on improved awareness and absorption of research inside government, expanding research management expertise, and developing a culture of 'policy learning'."(Ibid) Enthusiasm is frequently touted for knowledge management as a technique, albeit, at times, some measures assume knowledge utilization can be resolved with technical "fixes" and improved knowledge management. More than this or the ensuing explanation is necessary, however, as a primary part of the problems in knowledge management evolve from understanding or not understanding policy process flaws and imperfections in the process.

Tackling Details

After establishing the basics for knowledge management, the next step includes "Developing support and setting expectations." Lessons learned during this process and recommended to others considering utilizing knowledge management were reported to be:

1. To help insure the project starts off right and ends up right the first time, consider consulting a consultant, Stoll recommends. Research and interview potential candidates to insure a positive working relationship.

2. Equip organization/business board and/or management to "get on board." Present benefits; concerns; projected outcomes. Stress expected benefits such as:

Better knowledge sharing among staff and member/customers;

Improved records-management system for enhanced use of our knowledge;

System that uses member/customer knowledge to improve customer relationship management and provide better services to members/customers.

3. Consider funding costs of the project.

4. Identify and set goals and expectations, yet be flexible when change is needed.

Moving forward

The Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management which contains 940 definitions and 3,600 plus references discusses concepts/ideas from the past, enveloped in the present, and projects emerging directions of knowledge management. Key issues, concepts and terms are covered in this massive book marketed to libraries. "Libraries that purchase the print version receive access to the encyclopedia's electronic version for the life of the edition." ("Idea Group..." 2005) Complementing contemporary publications claiming to clarify knowledge management components, however, a barrage of not so easily explained innovations are regularly revealed. According to KM World, " QL2 Software and TEMIS have formed an alliance to deliver a mutually complementary system for creating industry-specific and application-oriented data analysis reports from what they call locked and hidden content." ("Deep Web diving" 2006) This hint of tomorrow's tools to be used in/for knowledge management is explained:

WebQL 3.0 platform Automates information extraction from Web and other amorphous data resources, reformatting it into structured; actionable formats.

WebQL gathers information in and outside of firewalls, as well as monitors that are password-protected (Web sites and Blogs; newswires; trade journals; stored e-mails) and then reveals relevant data.

QL2 claims that along with its ability to integrate data from virtually any source, its product has intact access to any type information to purportedly further extend business and competitive intelligence, and other business "solutions." (Ibid)

Online Miner 3.2, according to TEMIS, analyzes text and solutions to enhance the use of information.... And "plays a critical role in fields where information processing is complex due to the great volume of data, such as in competitive intelligence, customer relationship management, scientific intelligence and reputation management." (Ibid) Bellinger (2004) strives to simply concepts related to knowledge management as he notes an observation by Neil Fleming to be the basis for thoughts relating to his following diagram:

collection of data is not information.

A collection of information is not knowledge.

A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.

A collection of wisdom is not truth." (Ibid)

Data, according to Bellinger (Ibid), amounts to a meaningless point in space and time, without reference to either, stressing "out of context" to be the key context. Collection of data is not information, as although data portions may represent information, however this is determined on the comprehension/understanding of the one perceiving the data. Information, he insists is merely an.".. understanding of the relationships between pieces of data, or between pieces of data and other information." pattern has the potential to represent knowledge, Bellinger (Ibid) argues, when a pattern relation exists amid the data and information. It becomes knowledge only when an individual is able to recognize and comprehend patterns and implications. Patterns that represent, nevertheless, rather than being contextual dependent to the extend of information, tend to be more self-contextualizing, or to a great extent, construct its own context rather than being context dependent. The following associations, Bellinger (Ibid) insists can be rationally 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)." (Ibid)

On Demand Value Knowledge management, according to Bellinger (Ibid), "would be the capture, retention, and reuse of the foundation for imparting an understanding of how all these pieces fit together and how to convey them meaningfully to some other person." Knowledge's value, consequently, directly relates to how effectively the managed knowledge enables a the members of a business or to address and deal with current situations, while effectively envisioning and creating their futures. "Without on-demand access to managed knowledge," Bellinger (Ibid) contends, "every situation is addressed based on what the individual or group brings to the situation with them. With on-demand access to managed knowledge, every situation is addressed with the sum total of everything anyone in the organization has ever learned about a situation of a similar nature." Bellinger (Ibid) challenges readers as he stresses on demand, knowledge management's value with a question: "Which approach would you perceive would make a more effective organization?"

Hot Wash Recommended hot wash," a quick and immediate rundown of events conducted at the end of a project; event; session can capture the lessons for future use. New lessons or knowledge can be managed by e-mailing to staff members and details archived on intranet. Stoll (2004) stresses that hot washes provide "one of the simplest yet most effective knowledge-management practices to incorporate into operations, and they offer some of the largest rewards."

Conclusion

Could it be that "knowledge" is a term too freely used? Cilliers (2005) questions, citing the concept of "knowledge management" as an example. Cilliers argues that individuals cannot "know" something complex in all its intricacy but that they diminish the thing's complexity in order to comment on it within their finite understanding. As knowledge and data-reduction are entwined, knowledge is accessible because boundaries are created.